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The 
AMERICAN INDIAN 


CHIEF JOSEPH 
NEZ PERCE INDIANS 


am ihe | 
AMERICAN INDIAN 


NORTH, SOUTH AND CENTRAL 
AMERICA 


A. HYATT VERRILL | 


‘HE REAL STORY OF THE PIRATE,” “THE REAL 
STOR ? ETO. 


D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
NEW YORK :: LONDON :: MCMXXX 


COPYRIGHT, 1927, ny 
D,. APPLETON AND COMPANY 


All rights reserved. This book, or parts 
thereof, must not be reproduced in any 
form without permission of the publishers. 


PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 


INTRODUCTION 


This book is intended to give an interesting and 
accurate account of the American Indians (as the 
natives of America should be called in order to dis- 
tinguish them from the natives of Asiatic India) 
from the earliest known inhabitants of the New 
World until the present day. In particular, the au- 
_ thor has endeavored to point out how much we owe 
the so-called Redman and how outrageously he has 
been treated; to correct many false ideas and to 
destroy many By eoorcepkions regarding the Indians 
ot America. 

From the time of Columbus, the public has liter- 
ally been stuffed full of false ideas, misrepresenta- 
tions and incorrect information regarding the In- 
dians. The very name ‘‘Indian’’ was bestowed upon 
the aborigines in error. Innumerable other false 
ideas, which have become popularized, were due 
also to mistakes, casual observation and ignorance. 
Many more cles ideas have been spread by works 
of fiction and by deliberate falsehoods and anti- 
Indian propaganda. 

The American Indian has ever costae a most 
prominent position in song, poetry and prose. 
Nearly every one is more or less interested in the 
Indian. Every boy, at some period of his life, plays 
Indian; with few exceptions grown men and women 
are intensely curious and interested in the members 
of the race; Indian handiwork is always in demand; 


stories dealing with Indians are eagerly read, and 
Vv 


vi INTRODUCTION 


the Indian collections in our museums invariably 
attract crowds of visitors. And very few persons 
really know anything about the Indians as a whole, 
despite the fact that most of our museums possess 
splendid collections of Indian ethnology and archeol- 
ogy while The Museum of the American Indian 
in New York City is, as its name implies, devoted 
exclusively to the Indian and is the only museum of 
its kind in the world. Even with modern transpor- 
tation and motor cars bringing the Indians within 
easy reach of tourists and travelers, the public as a 
whole remains lamentably ignorant of the only real 
Americans. 

It is for the benefit of those who are interested in 
the American Indian, and who desire to acquire a 
truer and broader knowledge of the so-called ‘‘ Van- 
ishing Race,’’ that The American Indian has 
been written. As far as possible, the author has 
avoided all scientific terms and discussions, all 
technicalities and statistical data. In a work of this 
size and scope, it would obviously be impossible to 
describe in detail the characters, habits, arts, etc., 
of every North, South and Central American tribe. 
Hence, in most cases, the descriptions are more or 
less of a composite nature. In some instances 
where there are several tribes belonging to the same 
racial stock, the most important and best known 
tribe has been selected as a representative of all. 
In other cases, where a number of tribes with simi- 
lar habits, customs and characteristics inhabit a 
certain section, such features as are common to all 
have been selected. 


INTRODUCTION vil 


~The author also wishes to state that, as far as 
possible, only such theories and suppositions have 
been included as have been generally accepted by 
the most prominent authorities on American archeol- 
ogy and ethnology. ‘‘Indianologists’’ if we may use 
the term, like all other scientists, often disagree and, 
for that matter, there is often as much evidence in 
support of one theory as another. In some cases, 
however, the author has ventured his own opinions 
and theories based on personal observations and ex- 
periences during many years spent among the In- 
dians of Central and South America in the interests 
of The Museum of the American Indian. It must 
be borne in mind that, in nearly every case, theories 
and deductions regarding many matters are scarcely 
more than guesswork, and that, at any time, the most 
widely and universally accepted theories may be 
completely upset by new and unexpected discoveries. 
The author wishes to express his gratitude for the 
invaluable suggestions, information and assistance 
rendered by Mr. George G. Heye, Mr. Wm. Orchard, 
Mr. Gilmore, Prof. Marshall Saville and others of 
The Museum of the American Indian, Heye Founda- 
tion; Dr. P. E. Goddard of The American Museum 
of Natural History, and to many other individuals 
and institutions. 


New York A. Hyatrr VERBILL 


x 
CHAPTER 


CONTENTS 


taces—Astronomy, science, religions, 
sacrifices, records, petroglyphs, and 
hieroglyphs, monuments, engineering 
feats, governments, etc. 


III. MisconcErTions AND MISTAKEN 


Tora 2. 08 8 0 ee ee 
Misnomers— Variations among Indians 
—Colors of skins—‘Red” Indians— 
Beards and mustaches—Shaving—Hair 
—Eyes—Physical characters—Features 
—Stature—Effect of environment—No 
distinct Indian type—Stoicism—Cry- 
ing babies—Immunity to pain—How 
erroneous ideas originated—Houses of 
Indians—War whoops and scalps — 
Trophies—Laziness—Cruelty and 


treachery — Kind-heartedness — Pets 


—Honesty—Psychology— Music. 


IV. Wuat WE Owe THE INDIAN AND 


How WE Have ReEpaip Him . 


Indian vegetables and important prod- 
ucts—Medicinal and other plants— 
Dyes, gums, etc.—Domestic birds and 
animals—Early settlers aided by In- 
dians—Broken treaties—Treatment of 
Indians by early discoverers—Extermi- 
nation of Indians by Columbus—What 
the Indians learned from the white men 
—Corrupt administration of reserva- 
tions—Indians in Latin America—Un- 
conquered tribes—The ultimatum of 
the Mapuches—A move for their rights 
—The brighter side of the picture— 
How Guiana treats her Indians, 


PAGE 


44 


57 


CHAPTER 


CONTENTS 


V. Reticious BEiers . 


The Great Spirit and Happy Hunting- 
Grounds — Gods and deities — Spirits 
—Sacred objects and animals—Trans- 
migration—Reincarnation—Variations 
in beliefs—Supreme Beings—Sun and 
moon gods — Orion — Mountains and 
rivers—Mythology—Burial customs— 
Objects sacrificed—Mourning—Mum- 
mies — Idolatry — Symbols — Proxies 
—Fetishes—Charms—Effect of Chris- 
tianity. 


VI. SUPERSTITIONS AND LEGENDS. . 


VII. 


Imagination — Viewpoint — Myths — 
Legends and folk lore—The flood— 
Creation--Carib story of flood—How 
the animals were made—Arikara story 
of creation—Dreams and signs. 


MEDICINES AND MeEpicINE MEN . 


Witch doctors and medicine men— 
Peaimen and shamans—Female medi- 
cine men— Position and power of 
medicine men—The Kenaima or blood 
avenger—Medicine masks—Amulets— 
Talismans—Charms— Love potions— 
Self torture—Beenas—True medicines 
— Drugs — Massage — Hocus-pocus— 
Medicine chiefs — Medicine bundles— 
Medicine moccasins — Medicine robes 
—Medicine sticks — Medicine shields 
and weapons. 


VIII. DANCES AND CEREMONIALS ... 


Symbolism of dances—Combined 
dances and ceremonials—War dances— 


PAGE 


92 


111 


135 


xii 
CHAPTER 


IX. INpustrigs AND ARTS . . . 


CONTENTS 


Purpose of war dance—Effect on In- 
dians—Love of dramatics—Test and 
endurance dances—Initiations— Har- 
vest dances—Rain dances—Corn and 
snake dances—May dance—-Hunting 
dances — Devil dances — Tuscarora 
“falseface” ceremonies—Kukwa dance 
~— Andean dances — Parasara dance — 
Maiquarry dance of Arowaks—Stick 
dance of Guyamis—Animal dance of 
Akawoias — Ghost dance — Religious 
dances—Jurapari dance—Secret dances 
— Bimiti dance — Ceremonial imple- 


ments and utensils—Ceremonial cos-~ 


tumes — Ceremonial pigments — Mys- 
tery of ceremonial objects. 


Importance of Indian industries— 
Beadwork—Modernity of beadwork— 


| pack 


156 


Aboriginal beads — Substitutes for ~ 


beads—Various kinds of Indian beads 
—Stone and gem beads—An Indian 
gem center—Skill as lapidaries—Tur- 
quoise beads—Shell beads—Wampum 


-—Use of wampum—Variations in bead- 


work — Similarities in beadwork — 
Designs — Taboos — Distinguishing 
character of beadwork—lImitation of 
designs—Methods of weaving beads— 
Quillwork—How quillwork is made— 
Strawwork—Straw embroidery—Straw 
coverings—Basketry—Materials used— 


—Classes of basketry — Designs— | 


Waterproof baskets—Combinations of 
materials — Ornamentation — Feather 
decorations of baskets—Importance of 


‘HAPTER 


CONTENTS 


basketry—Pottery—Pottery as a com- 
mercial industry—Methods of making 
pottery—Sun-dried and fired pottery— 
Tempering — Glazing — Slips — Col- 
oring — Designs — Decorations — 
Forms — Textiles — North American 
textiles—Andean textiles—Rugs, cloth, 


blankets, ponchos—Dyes, looms, cotton 


and woolen textiles—Tanning—Furs— 
Horse-hair work—Hammocks—Bags— 
Silverwork — Appliqué and ae 


work. 


X. ImpLtemMENts, Weapons, UTEN- 
+? SILS, ETC. e e e ® 


Weapons of stone, wood, vslctil, eae 
Bows and aviws—2U46 of poison— 
Blowguns—Darts and clay pellets— 
Throwing spears and throwing sticks— 


Survival of atlatl—Javelins and stab-; | 
bing spears—Clubs, axes, hatchets, 


tomahawks, skull-crackers, ete.—Maces, 
swords, knives and daggers—Slings— 
Bolas—Lassos—Boomerangs and rabbit 
sticks—Combination weapons—Shields 
—Tools and implements—Drills, ham- 
mers, chisels, etc.—Mortars and pestles 
— Grinding stones — Metates — Spin- 
ning—Weaving—Mechanical devices— 
Saws and files—Awls, thread, needles, 
etc.—Cooking utensils—Receptacles— 
Indian canoes and boats—Bark canoes, 
dugouts, balsas, coracles, rafts, etc. 


XI. Home Lirr, Faminy Customs, 


RECREATIONS . . . 
Industry of Indians—Women’s labor— 


Xill 
PAGS 


177 


206 


X1V 
CHAPTER 


CONTENTS 


Men’s work—Social position of women 
—Maternal line of descent—Marriage 
laws—The “couvade”—Traveling—Af- 
fection— Curiosity — Modesty — Eman- 
cipated women—Governments—Social 
organization — Confederations— Chiefs 
— Nations — Councils — Republics — 
Clans—Totems — Polygamy — Monog- 
amy — Polyandry — Secrecy of names 
— Dual names — Sacred creatures — 
Dual dialects—Aged and infirm—Dis- 
posal of encumbrances—Age of Indians 
—Old men—Mortality—Size of the 
families — Liquor— Disease — Stealing 
— Honesty —Truthfulness— Vermin— 
Infantile mortality —Humor—-Sports 
and games — Gambling — Athletics — 
Music—Musical instruments. 


XII. Wauom tHe Wuire Men Founp 


Number of aborigines—Multiplicity of 
tribes—Condition of Indians—Varia- 
tion in mode of life—Civilized nations 
—Nomads—Pueblos—Attitude of In- 
dians—Absence of accurate records— 
Lack of knowledge—Unusual episodes 
—Smith and Raleigh—Las Casas— 
Buccaneers—Uninhabited areas—Con- 
fusion in spelling—Intertribal ill feel- 
ing—Extinction of tribes—Survival of 
fittest—Styles and fashions—Costumes 
—Universal use of feathers—Inaccu- 
racy of old accounts and pictures—In- 
fluence of Europeans—Adaptation to 
new things—Horses—Effect on cus- 
toms—Adoption of Indian customs by 
whites—Intermarriage—Half breeds— 


226 


CONTENTS XV 
CHAPTER PAGE 
Combining of tribes—Fugitives—Mis- 
information. 


XIII. Inprans or Our Eastern Woop- 
LANDS . ° . : ° ° ° 
The Eastern Algonquins—Narragan- 
setts, Pequots, Delawares, Mohegans, 
Nanticokes, Powhatan confederacy, 
Shawnees—Industries and occupations 
— Agriculture — Hunting — Bows 
and arrows — War clubs — Fishing — 
Canoes — Houses — Household utensils 
—Costumes of men and women—Phys- 
ical characters—Scalp locks—Head- 
dresses —- Games — Moccasins — The 
Abanakis, Micmacs, Malecites, Penob- 
scots and Passamaquoddys—Hunting 
and fishing—Bows, arrows and other 
weapons — Agriculture — Snowshoes— 
Canoes— Burden carrying—Toboggans 
—~-Houses—Household utensils—Cook- 
ing—Pipes—Physical characters—Cos- 
tumes — Baby-carriers — Quillwork — 
Games and sports—The Iroquois or Six 
Nations—Mohawks, Onondagas, Onei- 
das, Cayugas, Senecas, and Tuscaroras 
—Organization, customs—Woman suf- 
frage—Warlike spirit—Remaining In- 
dians — Government — Agriculture — 
Hunting and fishing — Weapons — 
Houses — Household utensils — Baby- 
carriers — Pipes — Canoes — Cos- 
tumes—Ornaments—Bead- and quill- 
work — Physical characters — Dances 
and ceremonials— Religion—Games— 
The Central Algonquins—Sauk and 
Fox tribes—Kickapoos — Menominees, 


239 


XVIiii 
CHAPTER 


CONTENTS 


Blackfeet, Assiniboins, Crows, Teton- 
Sioux, Cheyennes, Arapahoes, ete.— 
Buffalo hunting—Weapons—Fishing— 
Agriculture— Pipes—Transportation, 


travois—Houses—House furnishings— — 


Religions—Dances—Medicine bundles 
~—Games—Costumes—Decorative arts 
—Beadwork — Painting — Designs — 
Baby-carriers—Characters. 


XVII. InpDIANS OF THE SOUTHWESTERN 


DESERTS ee. 
Groups and racial affinities—Desert 
Nomads—A paches and Navajos—Char- 
acter—Food—A griculture—Hunting— 
Fish taboo—Sheep raising —Weapons— 
Transportation—Dwellings—Baby-car- 
riers — Pipes — Gambling — Games— 
Religions—Charms— Costumes— Jica- 
rillas — Decorative arts — Beadwork— 
Painting—Textiles— Silverwork—The 
Pueblos — Origin and migrations — 
Tribes of Pueblos—Localities—Pueblo 
houses—Transportation— Food—Agri- 
culture—- Hunting — Weapons— Game- 
charms—Character—Fighting ability— 
Societies—Religion—Ceremonials and 
dances—Musical instruments—House- 
hold furnishings—Pottery—Mats—Bas- 
kets—Cloth—Woolen _textiles—Wood- 
work — Clothing — Costumes — Orna- 
ments — Silverwork — Turquoise work 
— The Pima-Yuman-Seri group — 
Yumas, Mohaves, Walapais — Hava- 
supais—Maricopas, Cocopas, Seris, ete. 
—Territory—Food—Houses—Clothing 
—Basketry—The Yaquis—Warlike and 
independent — Condition — Villages— 


PAGE 


307 


CONTENTS xix 


CHAPTER PAGE 
Agriculture—Houses—Baskets—Weap- 
ons — Pottery — Masks — Musical in- 
struments — The Yumas — Houses — 
Clothing—Balsas—W eapons—Customs, 
etc. — The Havasupais — The Seris— 
Customs—Mode of life, weapons, etc. 


XVIII. Invpians ofr THE WESTERN PLA- 
TEAUS . . . . ° ° ° . 
Relationships, dialects and territory— 
The Nez Perces, Klikitats, Umatillas, 
Topinish, Yakimas, Wascos, Flatheads 
and Kutenais — Food — Agriculture— 
Hunting— Fishing —Traps— Weapons 
— Canoes — Dwellings — Household 
utensils—Games—Physical characters 
—Temperament—The Nez Perce War 
—Costumes— Decorations — Arts—In- 
dustries, etc—The Klamaths, and Mo- 
docs — The Modoc War — Customs— 
Mode of life — Houses — Basketry — 
Weapons—Hats, ete.—Indians of the 
(Northern Plateaus—Utes and Piutes 
—Relationships— Religions— Hunting 
—Digging—“Digger  Indians”—Pov- 
erty — Transportation — Balsas — 
Basketry — Baby-carriers — Houses — 
Wickyups—Charms—Medicine bundles 
—Games—Costumes—Artistic ability— 
Beadwork — The Yakima and Fraser 
River tribes—Customs—Life—Charac- 
ters —- Industries — Weapons — Arts 
-—Costumes, etc. 


334 


XIX. InpIAns oF THE PaAciFic Coast . 349 
Number of tribes and dialects—Clima- 
tic differences—Peaceful nature—Mis- 


xx 


CHAPTER 


CONTENTS 


sions— Houses— Furnishings — Cloth- 
ing—F'ood—Weapons—Games—Money 
— Hats — Headdresses — Ceremonial 
costumes — Religions — Jewelry — 
The Dieguefio death dolls—Beadwork 
—Carving—Baby-carriers—Basketry— 
Oregon Tribes—The Quinauilt—Qui- 
leutes, Makah, Skokomish, Samish and 
others—Livelihood—Whaling—Canoes 
—Fishing—Hunting—Weapons—Veg- 
etable food—-Houses—Household uten- 
sils— Costumes— Headdresses—Orna- 
ments—Spirit-canoe ceremony—Pipes 
— Tools — Baby-carriers — Basketry — 
Beadwork — Dog-hair blankets — The 
Athabascans of the Northwest—The 
Tahltans — Life — Customs — Pipes 
— Games — Religions — Ceremonies 
— Trading — Arts—Beadwork—Bone- 
work—Household utensils—Houses— 
Costumes—Hunting — : 


XX. Inprans or tHe Far NortHwest 


Distinct races and tribes—Isolated po- 
sition—Peculiarities—Physical charac- 
ters — The Tlingits — Haidas, Tsim- 
shians, Kitksans, Niskas, Kwakiutis, 
etc. — Canoes — Fishing — Whaling 
—Hunting—Weapons and implements 
—Social organization—Castes—Slaves 


—Woodwork—Utensils of wood—Cedar 


bark — Bark cloth — Baskets — Rope 
— Bedding — Chilkat blankets — How 
woven — Mats — Houses — Building 
houses—Erecting posts and timbers— 


PAGE 


365 


‘Interior fittings—Totem poles—Mean-' ~ 
Ing of totem poles—Wearing apparel— 
-Ornaments— Labrets — Games—Gam- 


CHAPTER 


CONTENTS 


‘ bling — Pipes — Haliotis-shell inlay — 


Carving — Weapons’ — Shields — 
Helmets—War knives—Masterpieces of 
workmanship—Bone swords—Legends 
of the Kwakiutl sword — Religion — 
Ceremonials—Purposes of ceremonies 
—The Potlach—lInitiations—Tattooing 
—Ceremonial utensils—Masks and cos- 
tumes—Cartoons—Ingenious contriv- 
ances—Charms and medicines, etc. 


XXI. Inprans Sout or Us se. 


Number of Indians in Central. and — 


South America—Proportion ‘of civil- 
ized Indians—Primitive tribes—Dis- 
like of strangers—Difference between 
North and South and Central Amer- 
ican tribes—Similarities—Coincidences 
— Physical characters — Mexican In- 
dians—Yucatan tribes—Central Amer- 
ican tribes—Mayas—Other tribes—In- 
dians of Nicaragua, Salvador and Costa 
Rica—Caribs—Guatusos —Talamancas 
—Indians of Panama—Shayshans— 
Boorabbis — Guaymis — Bogenahs — 


- Coclés—San Blas confederation—White 


Indians — Tegualas — Towalis — 
Tupi-Towalis — Kunas, ete. — Cho- 
kois and Warraus. 


XXII. Inprans oF THE SoUTH AMERICAN 


MUNGIES 0 dicw aiidaort . 
Distinct racial stocks—Carib—Arowak 


‘and Warrau families—The Caribs and 
their relatives—Island Caribs—Origin 


of Caribs—Cannibals—Caribs of to-day 
—Akawoias—Poison-makers — Use of 


XXi 
PAGE 


379 


410 


XXil 
CHAPTER 


XXIII. Inv1ans or THE ANDES AND Pam- 


CONTENTS: 


blowgun and poisoned darts—Cassava 
and its preparation—Customs—Wood- 
skins—Macushis and Arekunas—Myan- 
gongs—Amazons—Wai-wois and Para- 
kutos — Akurias — Indians of the far 
interior — Panos — Arowaks — Wapi- 
sianas—Head hunters—The Jivaros— 
Amuenshas — The Tupi-Guarani race 
—The Botacudos—Makus—Resem- 
blance to Bogenahs—Indians of the 
Gran Chaco. 


PAS ERMA a i eM ep rs ace 
Tribes of the Andean highlands—De- 
scendants of Incas—The Quichua races 
—Habits, lives, customs, arts, etc.— 
Industry —Character, Socialism—The 
Aimaras—Characteristics of the Aima- 
tas—Vanity—The Yungas tribes—The 
so-called Araucanians — Mapuches — 
Huilliches—Tuelches and others—Onas 
and Yahgans—Life and customs of the 
Mapuches—Physical characters — In- 
‘dustries—Costumes—Silverwork— Vil- 
lages—Medicine women or “Machis”— 
Sacred objects and animals—Crosses— 
Burials—The chief’s auto ride—Games 
—Legends. 


XXIV. Inprian Wars AND WARRIORS. . 


Troubles with Indians—Reasons— 
Columbus and the Indians—Wreck of 
the Santa Maria—First settlement— 
Loyalty of Indians—How Columbus 
repaid the Indians—Lack of discrimi- 
nation—Inevitable wars—Indian and 


PAGE. 


446 


ATS 


GHAPTER 


CONTENTS 


white savagery—Use of Indian allies by 
Europeans in wars—Broken treaties— 
Graft—Treachery and cruelty—Stead- 
fast friends—Lack of consideration 
shown friendly tribes — Mohicans — 
Uncas — Delawares — Tortures — 
Tortures by Europeans—Reasons for 
tortures—Treatment of white prison- 
ers by some tribes—Bravery of Indians 
—Heroic and noble figures—Historical 
characters—Rapidity of Indian con- 
quest—Advantages of white men— 
Lack of unity of tribes—Small number 
of foes—Effect of civil wars—Condition 
of Incas—Effect of intertribal antago- 
nisms—Adoption of firearms by Indians 
—Remarkable survival of the fittest— 
Unconquered and independent tribes— 
Reasons why they survived—Success of 
Mapuches—Caribs’ independence—Fu- 
tility of fighting—End of Indian wars 
—Indians in the World War—True 
heroes—Patriots—Fair play—Custer 
batile. 


XX111 
PAGE 


5 z 
ha at x 


. 


f van ie 6 


TLLUSTRATIONS 


Chief J oseph. wid th > ofrontisprece 


Sculptured Slab, Manabi Culture, Ecuador 
—Stone Seat, Manabi Culture, Ecuador 
—Arybal, Inca, Peru—Jar, Pre-Inca, 
Nasca, Peru... gat eee LUCIO 

Inca or Pre-Inca Culture ee EF OCUnGg 

Shield of Wood with Turquoise Mosaic, 
Aztec Culture, Mexico—Pottery Vessel, 
Maya Culture, British Honduras facing 


Coclé Culture, Panama . . . , facing 
The Carib Story of the Flood 
Shrine, Hidatsa Indians ... facing 
eaick, Dance of Guaymi, Indians, Panama 
facing 


Spal ‘Costumes, South sonata Tn- 


dians jj; {- we £e o¢ tty LACINE, 


Kukwa ee Coclé Tndione ‘of Panama— 
Bee Dance, Aimara Indians, Bolivia 


| facing 
Masks, Ceremonial Onjects, ete. | 
‘Beadwork... - - . wat FACING - 
Textiles |: 1 deci .ifeeng.. 
Types of Basketry cenit + fea.) Lees 


xxv 


PAGE 


XXV1i ILLUSTRATIONS 


Quill- and Bead-Work . . . facing 

Weapons, North American Tribes . ‘ 

Weapons, South American Tribes . 

Canoes . 1 ee ee 

Musical Instrdinenta i 

Pipes, Implements, ete. ; 

Distribution of North American ipvdidtas 
Lribes.. ue. .  facmg 

Indians of Our Hastert Wesdlande 

Delaware Woman with Silver and Feather 
Headdress—Chippewa Man—Delaware 
Woman with Robe of Appliqué Ribbon 
Decorations . . . facing 


Passamaquoddy | -Man—Cayuga ‘*Halse — 
Hace’? Dancer... 


Moceasin Types 

North American Indians 
Baby-Carriers or Cradle Bearas 
Headdresses, North American Indians 
Headdresses, North American Indians 
Indians of the Plains 


Types of Beadwork . . : fading 
Painted Buffalo-Skin Rohe, Gray Indians 

Montana oS TS ete 
Indians of the West ; Ie ised ko 
Zuni Woman—Zuni Man . ._ facing 
Zuni Village, Showing Rain Dance facing 
Plains Indians. . . facing 


Totem Pole, Tlingit Tndian Alaska— 
—Houses and Totem Poles—Tlingit 


PAGE 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Indians, Alaska—Headdresses, Haida 
Indians, Alaska—Pipe, Haida Indians, 


‘Alaska - . .. 2. facing 
Masks, Kwakiutl indians, Vancouver 
facing 


Wooden Box, Haida—Wooden ‘Trays, 
Haida—Wooden Box, Tlingit—Horn 
Spoons, Haida—Blanket of Goat Hair 


and Cedar Bark, Chilkat . . facing 
Panama Indians . . -. . . facing 
Carib Indians . . . facing 
Headdresses, Central and South America 
Typesof Jungle Indians. . . facimg 


Macushi, Arekuna, British Guiana—Are- 
kuna Indian, Using Blowgun, Guiana— 
Akawoia Girl, British Guiana—Chokol 


Girl, Panama . . facing 
Shrunken Human Heads, Ji ivaro Indians, 
Ecuador . . . facing 


Amuensha Indian, Banus Aimara Indian, 
Bolivia—Boorabbi Indian, Dance Cos- 
tume, Panama . . . . ‘facing 

Wooden Fetishes or Proxies, Panama 
Indians—Quichua Indians, Cuzco, Peru 


facmg 
Tupi-towali Woman, Panama—Mapuche 


Woman, Chile—Quichua Woman, Peru 
—Mapuche Man, Chile . . facing 


XXVli 
PAGE 


347 


370 


ov 
390 
o91 
3995 
412 


413 


442 


445 


460 


461 


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THE AMERICAN INDIAN 
_ NORTH, SOUTH AND CENTRAL 
AMERICA 


CHAPTER I 
“WHO ARE. THE INDIANS? 


| since Columbus first stepped upon the 
4 shores of a Bahaman Cay, this question has 
been asked, but never satisfactorily and positively 
answered. Many theories as to the origin of the 
American Indian have been advanced; but, in every 
case, no matter how much evidence Histo may be to 
support the theory, there is almost if not quite as 
much in rebuttal. | 
For many years geographies and histories boldly 

stated that the Indian was Mongolian and that his 
ancestors migrated to America via Bering Strait. 
And Dr. A. Hrdlicka, who is one of the foremost 
authorities on the American Indian, still adheres to 
that theory and claims to have found indisputable 
evidence in Alaska in support of it. 

- But, even if we grant that the ancestors of our 
northwestern and Pacific coast Indians, and perhaps 
those of Canada, our central plains, and even our 
northeastern states, came by way of Bering Strait 
or the Aleutian Islands, there are many facts which 
. | | Poe | i 


2 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


make it most difficult to believe that all the Indians’ 
ancestors arrived by that route. Many of our North 
American tribes do bear a striking similarity, in 
physical and facial characteristics, to the Mongol 
tribes of northeastern Asia, the most strikingly 
Asiatic of these being the tribes nearest to the Asian 
coast. But there are as many if not more tribes 
whose members, as a whole, do not in the least: re- 
semble Mongolians, or the natives of northeastern 
Asia. Many of the Central and South American 
tribes are far more Malaysian or Polynesian than 
Mongolian in appearance. In customs, dialects, be- 
liefs, and arts they are totally distinct from either 
our northwestern Indians or the Asiatic tribes. 

Of course, if, as is claimed by the adherents of the 
Bering Sea route, the migration had been going on 
for countless centuries before the advent of Huro- 
peans in America, the earlier migrants might and 
probably would have spread far east and south. But 
would a tribe, or the remote descendants of a tribe, © 
accustomed to a barren, cold country seek and adapt 
themselves to a heavily forested, steaming hot, tropi- 
cal environment? And if all the American Indians 
were descendants of those north Asian nomads, how 
did it happen that Indians of Central and South 
America attained a high state of culture and a credit- 
able civilization totally distinct from anything 
Asiatic, while the aborigines farther north, and in an 
environment far better adapted to their ancestral 
life and development, remained largely uncultured 
savages? , 

Logically, it would seem that a northern climate 


WHO ARE THE INDIANS? 3 


would tend to produce a culture and civilization 
much sooner than a tropical climate. In the north, 
stone buildings might be evolved from necessity. 
Labor of the strenuous sort required to move, shape, 
and pile up enormous stones would be easier and 
less destructive in the north than in the tropics, 
where, one would suppose, the luxuriance of nature, 
the abundance of food, the enervating climate, and 
the tendency for man to take life easily, would all 
militate against a savage race’s developing arts, 
cultures, and civilizations. 

No high state of culture and no true civilization 
existed or does exist among the Mongols of north- 
eastern Asia (unless we except the Chinese, Japan- 
ese, Koreans, and Tibetans); but farther south, in 
Indo-China, Cambodia, and the Malay Archipelago 
we find a far more cultured and civilized condition 
with extensive ruins telling of a long forgotten cul- 
ture developed under almost precisely the same con- 
ditions as the Central and South American cultures. 

Is it then unreasonable to suppose that there may 
have been many migrations to America from various 
parts of Asia, Malaysia, Polynesia, and Europe? 
Asiatic junks, Malaysian proas, and Polynesian 
canoes are all seaworthy craft and could make the 
voyage across the usually calm tropical Pacific. 

Can any one state positively, that, in the dim past, 
a vast archipelago, or even a mid-Pacific continent, 
might not have existed, thus affording an easy route 
for man’s migration to the western hemisphere? * 


1 We have indisputable proof that some of the Indians of our west 
coast were in more or less direct communication with the mid- 


4 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


On the tropical eastern seaboard, in the Antilles 
and northeastern South America, we find Indians 
wholly distinct from either our United States tribes 
or the Central American and western South Amer- 
ican tribes. Many of these are strikingly Semitic in 
appearance and still adhere to Semitic customs, If, 
as many now believe, Atlantis was a fact and nota 
fancy, might not these Indians be descendants of 
refugees or voyagers from that lost continent? 

Even if Atlantis were purely mythical, is there any 
reason why natives of southern Europe should. not. 
have crossed the Atlantic and settled in America 
ages before Leif Krikson ventured to our shores? 
The caravels of Columbus were scarcely as sea- 
worthy as Carib canoes, and Columbus himself found, 
the remains of a European-built vessel on the shore 
of Guadeloupe on his second voyage. And surely, it 
would have been little harder for man to have mi- 
grated from Greenland to our northeastern coasts 
than to have come from Asia to Alaska. 

Why then, should we assume or try to prove that 
the entire western hemisphere should have been 
peopled by straggling wanderers from Asia entering 
Alaska? What tremendous necessity could have 
driven hordes of those Mongol nomads from their 
ancient homes to a new land? Scarcity of food? 
Pacific Islands. Among a great number of specimens collected from 
prehistoric graves and refuse heaps on the California coast by ex- 
peditions of the Museum of the American Indian are two imple- 
ments of unquestionable Pacific-island origin. One of these is a 
typical Hawaiian stone poi-pownder, the other an adze head of stone 
obviously from some even more remote Pacific island. And it is 


evident that the poi-pounder at least was used by the Indians, as 
it bears traces of their characteristic asphalt decorations. 


WHO ARE THE INDIANS? 4) 


Reindeer, fish, seals, and other game and food ani- 
mals on which those races depend are still sufficiently 
abundant in Asia to support a large population, and 
thousands of years ago it is hardly probable that 
they were any scarcer than to-day. And again, if 
enough of those barbaric Mongols to form the 
nucleus for the innumerable Indian tribes mi- 
grated to Alaska, there must have been a general 
exodus from Asia. Why then did not all come? 

If large numbers came, bringing, as they must, 
their possessions, their domestic animals, their arts 
and customs, why were no Asiatic animals known to 
the Indians before the advent of the white men; why 
are not Asiatic customs and arts in evidence among 
every Indian tribe? Perhaps, it may be claimed, the 
migration took place so long ago that no distinct arts 
_ had been developed and no animals had been domes- 
ticated. But in that case, it must have been so long 
ago that Asia could scarcely have been overcrowded, 
while the tribes must have been so very primitive 
that we can scarcely conceive of their venturing far 
from home or settling in a new land fraught with in- 
numerable unknown perils. 

Moreover, the prehistoric migrations were appar- 
ently from the northeast to the southwest, rather 
than vice versa. Throughout eastern, southern, cen- 
tral western, and southwestern North America, we 
find innumerable tribes all speaking dialects of the 
Athabascan and Algonquin tongues of the north- 
eastern Indians. But nowhere, aside from the north- 
western coastal districts and their immediate vicin- 
ity, do we find tribes using dialects of races dwelling 


6 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 

closest to the Bering Sea route. If, as claimed by 
the advocates of the theory, America was peopled’ 
entirely by migrants from northern Asia, how does 
it happen that the tongues of these Asiatic tribes are 
still confined to a restricted area in the Northwest, 
while the Algonquin and Athabascan dialects are 
common over such an immense area and among so 
many widely diversified and distributed tribes? 
Hiven the most ardent supporter of this theory would 
hardly go so far as to claim that the early Asiatics 
crossed to Alaska, wandered across the entire width 
of North America, completely forgot their ancestral 
tongue and evolved entirely new and distinct lan- 
guages and after that proceeded to populate the rest 
of America. One theory which has been advanced 
to account for this southerly migration and the wide 
dissemination of the Athabascan and Algonquin dia- 
lects, is that northern North America was inhabited 
before the glacial period. With the gradual en- 
croachment of the ice cap, animals moved southward 
and man, who depended upon the creatures, fol- 
lowed. Then, with the ending of the glacial period 
and the withdrawal of ice, the animals gradually 
wandered back to the north followed by some tribes, 
while others, who had in the meantime developed 
an agricultural life, remained in the more wig 
and temperate areas. 

After all, why should we attempt to account for 
the American Indian by theories of his ancestors’ 
migrating from the Old World? If man evolved 
from some lower form, or was created, in Asia, 
Europe, or Africa, if he has always been indigenous 


WHO ARE THE INDIANS? 7 


to any or all of those countries, why should he not 
have originated in America as well? Is there any 
valid reason to assume that, if man originated or 
developed under certain conditions and favorable 
environment in the Old World, he might not have 
done the same in the New World under similar con- 
ditions? | 

It is not that the New World is ‘‘new’’ geologi- 
cally speaking, and the only tenable argument 
against this hypothesis is the fact that up to the 
present time no remains of extremely ancient ape- 
like or semihuman beings, such as have been found 
in the eastern hemisphere, have been discovered in 
America. But does that prove that such remains 
may not be found to-morrow or next year? Re- 
gardless of the original source of man in America, 
there is no doubt that he has been here for an im- 
measurable length of time. In our southwest, fos- 
‘sil skeletons of a giant bison of the Pleistocene pe- 
riod have been found, resting upon stone arrow and 
spear heads in such a position as to indicate that 
the animals were killed by these weapons and re- 
mained undisturbed where they fell, thus proving 
that man not only inhabited the New World in that 
Inconceivably remote geological period, but had 
actually advanced further in culture in America 
than in the Old World. We must bear in mind that, 
compared with Kurope, Asia, and other Old World 
countries, America is thinly settled and has been in 
the possession of the white race for a very short 
time. In America there are vast areas and countless 
caves which have never been examined. In Europe 


8 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


practically every square mile of territory has been 
searched for human remains; yet discoveries are 
constantly being made, even in such well-known and 
densely populated countries as England. | 

Though no human remains of great antiquity have 
yet been found in America, we know that the Amer- 
ican aborigines had reached a high state of eulture 
and had established a state of civilization at a time 
when many of the European races were still skin- 
clad savages. No Old World race of their time, not 
even the Egyptians, the Greeks, or the Romans, ever 
excelled or even equaled the feats of road-building, 
masonry, and stone-cutting attained by the Peru- 
vians; and no Old World potentate, not even ‘‘Solo- 
mon in all his glory,’’ was ever surrounded with such 
a pomp of riches as the precious metals, gems, and 
treasures of art possessed by the rulers of the Tneas, 
the Aztecs, and the Mayas. 

If, as is idetonl to assume, man’s gradual progress 
from primitive, semihuman beings to a highly cul- 
tured and civilized race requires a more or less 
definite period of time, then, most assuredly, we have 
every reason to think that man must have inhabited 
America for a longer period than Europe. 

Personally, I am convinced that the Indian orig- 
inated in America, although probably he was influ- 
enced by and became mixed with migrants from 
Asia, Malaysia, and Kurope. I know several prom- 
inent scientists who are in accord with me in ae 
belief. 

Comparatively few authorities, however, agree on 
their theories of the origin of the American Indian, 


WHO ARE THE INDIANS? 9 


and as every man has a right to his own opinion on 
the subject, it may be interesting to consider the 
more important reasons for and against the theory 
of the American Indians being of Old World origin. 

First, we have the physical characteristics: the 
straight, coarse, black hair; the narrow, often 
oblique eyes; the high cheek bones and the yellowish 
brown skin. These Mongolian characters would be 
of great importance if every American Indian tribe 
possessed them; but, as a matter of fact, these facial 
characteristics are by no means typical of even a 
small proportion of the American Indians, Many 
tribes have full round eyes; others have brown and 
rather fine hair; in others the cheek bones are not 
noticeably high or prominent; and the American 
Indian’s color varies from almost black to a lght 
olive no darker than that of a native of southern 
Europe. 

Even when these Mongol characteristics do appear 
they may be accounted for in several ways. When 
living under similar conditions and like environ- 
ment, races, through generations, will acquire more 
or less similar characteristics. The inhabitants of 
a treeless desert or plains district will squint, and 
in time will acquire eyes best adapted to the glare 
and sun. The Caucasian who lives for years upon 
the plains or the desert becomes narrow eyed, and 
the same conditions which developed the high cheek 
bones and oblique eyes of the Asiatic Mongols might 
reasonably be expected to produce similar features 
in another race living under somewhat similar 
conditions. 


10 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


No mammal is so adaptable to climatic and other 
conditions as man. His body, his character, his life, 
and even his psychology rapidly acquire character- 
istics suited to his environment. Thus the Indian 
whose life is spent in tramping and running in open 
country is a tall, long limbed, sinewy, ‘and spare 
type; the mountain Indian is bniobtit with a broad 
deep chest to accommodate lungs suited to a thin 
atmosphere and with thews enormously developed 
for climbing; and the Indian of the tropical jungles 
is undersized, stocky, with thin, underdeveloped 
limbs, and tremendous shoulders and chest acquired 
through generations of hie canoes along rivers 
and creeks. 

If, as was undoubtedly the case, bniborndite en 
Asia now and then found their way to America and 
were absorbed by the races already here, their phys- 
ical characters would be perpetuated to some extent 
and might greatly influence the race with which they 
mixed. The Mongolian facial characters are very 
persistent and even where there is a very small per- 
centage of Mongolian blood in a European the typi- 
cal Mongol features are usually distinguishable. — 

Another point which has often been brought for- 
ward as proof of the American Indian’s Old World 
origin is the presence of pyramids i in Mexico, Cen- 
tral and South America, and elsewhere. It has 
been stated repeatedly that these prove that the 
Indian’s ancestors came from Egypt or Asia, or 
even from Atlantis. But if the knowledge of pyra- 
mid construction was brought to America by mi- 
grants from Egypt or southern Asia, then the mi- 


WHO ARE THE INDIANS? 11 


grations must have been fairly recent and long after 
the wanderers had gone beyond the primitive stone 
age. In that case we are again faced with the prob- 
lem of why no Old World domestic animals, no Old 
World fruits, grains, or plants were introduced to 
America before the arrival of the Spaniards. More- 
over, if the migrants were familiar with the pyra- 
mids of Egypt how can we account for the fact that 
pyramids are not known in northern Asia or in 
Kurope? | 

- We do not need to look so far in order to account 
for the American pyramids. The pyramid is the 
simplest and most natural form of monument or 
building. Dump a load of sand or broken stone and 
it forms a pyramid. Give a child a pile of sand 
or even a box of blocks and the child will at once 
and instinctively build a miniature pyramid. And 
primitive man, endeavoring to erect a large struc- 
ture or monument, would, quite naturally, hit upon 
the pyramidal form. It would, in fact, be about the 
only form he could erect without encountering se- 
rious engineering problems, for the pyramid can be 
built without elaborate stagings, without hoisting 
the materials vertically by means of tackle, and 
without danger of superimposed weight crushing or 
forcing asunder the lower portions of the edifice. 

_ Another point which has been greatly stressed is 
the occurrence, in American Indian arts and archi- 
tecture, of apparently Asiatic designs and patterns, 
such as the swastika, the cross, the Greek key, ete. 
But who can say how much of this was coincidence 
or the natural result of man’s working along similar 


12 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


lines to obtain similar results? The first form of 
ornamentation is straight lines and dots, and it is 
but a step from these to crosses, swastikas, and 
various forms of the Greek-key design. 

The use of grotesque masks by both Asiatic and 
American tribes has also been used as an argument 
in favor of the Mongolian origin of the Indian. But 
every primitive race throughout the world uses 
masks. The Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, and even 
the Africans and Polynesians made and used masks. 
Masks, as a rule, are merely representations of 
human or brute faces made grotesque and with the 
expressions signifying emotions greatly exag- 
gerated. Hven where they represent spirits or 
demons, the features are merely those of wild ani- 
mals or human beings distorted and combined until 
almost unrecognizable. There is very little if any 
more similarity between American Indian masks, 
as a whole, and those of Tibet and other Asiatic 
districts, than between the Indian masks and those 
of Central Africa or the South Sea Islands. 

Finally, there is the question of the elephant in 
American sculpture and art. Certain sculptured 
figures of Aztec, Mayan, and other cultures, as well 
as figurines and decorations on pottery, are more 
or less elephantine in character. These show the 
long nose or proboscis clearly; but it has become a 
generally accepted theory on the part of the most 
prominent archeologists and ethnologists that these 
figures were intended to represent tapirs, ant bears, 
or even macaws with exaggerated snouts. 

However, among the many sculptured stone idols 


WHO ARE THE INDIANS? 13 


unearthed by the author in Panama was one which 
cannot be accounted for on this basis. This figure 
is not only elephantine in its proportions and the 
presence of a trunk, but, in addition, the hind legs 
bend forward at the knees and the ears are large, 
flat, and leaflike. These are characters peculiar to 
the elephant and could not by any possibility have 
been imagined by the sculptor. Moreover, the figure 
bears a burden upon its back. 

If this, as it seems undeniable, actually represents 
an elephant, then, at first thought, we would assume 
that the prehistoric denizens of Panama were of 
Asiatic origin. But in that case would not elephants 
have been more often represented? Unquestionably 
the sculptor must have had an intimate knowledge 
of the most salient peculiarities of the elephant. 
But can we state positively that extinct species of 
American elephants—mastodons or mammoths— 
might not have existed as great rarities at the time 
when this stone was cut? Or again, even if the 
last American elephant had passed away centuries 
before, is it not within reason to think that tradition 
and fable had perpetuated a knowledge of the 
beasts? And if, as might be possible, chance voy- 
agers from Asia visited America in those prehistoric 
days, it would be only natural that they should have 
related stories of their land and its wonders and 
that among these the elephant should have most 
impressed the American natives who heard the 
tales. 

In the Old Dartmouth Historical Society Museum 
at New Bedford, Massachusetts, is a carved and 


14 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


decorated walrus tusk which, were its origin and 
history unknown, might be used as proof that the 
Eskimos were of mixed African and European 
origin. Upon it are shown weird beasts unlike any- 
thing American—creatures which are evidently 
giraffes—human beings walking a tight rope, and 
an unmistakable striped barber’s pole. And yet the 
Eskimo artist who carved the tusk had never seen 
any of these. A young Eskimo was taken by a 
whaleman to San Francisco, and, upon his return 
to his tribe, he related the wonders he had seen, 
which included a circus, a menagerie, and a barber’s 
shop. To perpetuate such adventures on the part of 
a tribesman, the tribal artist engraved the tusk with 
figures as he imagined them from his friend’s de- 
scription. So, may we not account for the elephant 
figure I have mentioned, and perhaps the various 
other elephantine figures in prehistoric American 
sculpture, as the results of travelers’ tales or tra- 
ditions handed down from the days when American 
pachyderms roamed the western hemisphere? 

Now let us consider the facts which are, appar- 
ently, in rebuttal of the theory of the Asiatic origin 
of the Indian race. First, we note the presence in 
America of various cultivated plants and domesti- 
cated animals unknown in the Old World previous 
to the voyages of Columbus. Pumpkins, maize, 
potatoes, lima beans, peanuts, cacao, and many other 
food plants and fruits were cultivated and had been 
brought to a high state of perfection by the Ameri- 
can Indians, but were wholly unknown in Kurope 
or Asia. Guinea pigs, the Inca dog, turkeys, llamas, 


WHO ARE THE INDIANS? 15 


and other mammals and birds had been domesticated 
and bred until the original wild ancestors could not 
be determined, and yet none of these were known 
to Europeans or Asiatics. 

On the other hand, cattle, horses, asses, goats, 
sheep, swine, and common poultry, wheat, apples, 
and many Huropean and Asiatic food plants and 
domestic animals were entirely unknown to the 
Indians. Had there been any extensive migration 
or intercourse between the two hemispheres it would 
seem that some of these various plants or animals, 
which must have been cultivated and bred for thou- 
sands of years, would have been common to the Old 
World and the New. Even tobacco and the custom 
of smoking had never been known in Europe and 
Asia. Yet, of all things, these would have been the 
first to have spread across Asia to Europe had 
there been any regular communication and barter 
between the American Indians and the Mongolian 
tribes. 

Many of the customs and much of the handiwork 
of the American Indians were absolutely new to the 
first European arrivals. In this connection it must 
be remembered that long before the days of Colum- 
bus, European travelers had visited Asia and India 
and had brought back many specimens of strange 
things and had related detailed and rather accurate 
and trustworthy tales of their adventures and dis- 
coveries. Hence the Spaniards, and later the 
French, Dutch, and English, would certainly have 
been cognizant of anything used or owned by the 
Americans and Asiatics in common. 


16 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


The birch-bark canoes of our eastern and northern 
Indians were new, and yet birch bark is abundant . 
in northern Europe and Asia. Hammocks were new 
to the Europeans. Cannibals were a discovery of 
the early voyagers. The almost universal use of 
elaborate feather headdresses invariably elicited the 
wonder and admiration of the Europeans. 

Finally, and perhaps most important of all, is the 
fact that no American tribe possessed a knowledge 
of the wheel. Although the most useful and widely 
known invention of the human race, although known 
and used by the most ancient cultures and civiliza- 
tions of Kurope, Africa, and Asia, the wheel was 
unknown to the American Indians. Neither the - 
Incas, the Mayas, nor the Aztecs possessed wheels 
of any description, nor had they learned the secret 
even of the potter’s wheel. | 

Perhaps the most puzzling and remarkable fea- 


ture of prehistoric American civilizations is the fact | 


that the wheel was unknown and that all the mighty ~ 
engineering feats, all the elaborate structures of 

those cultures had been accomplished without using 
the wheel. This is the more remarkable inasmuch 
as every tribe which had progressed beyond sav- 
agery and had developed any arts used disks of 
wood, stone, or clay and knew how to employ rollers 
when moving heavy objects. One would think that 
it would have been impossible for the Indians to 
have avoided discovering the wheel. We would 
suppose that a disk of wood or other material, a 
plate or dish, falling and rolling on edge would have 
suggested the idea. But obviously it never did, and 


WHO ARE THE INDIANS? 17 


we can only surmise what heights of civilization 
might have been attained by the Mayas, the Incas, 
or the Aztecs had they hit upon this labor-saving 
key to all mechanical devices. 

The entire absence of the wheel everywhere in 
America in pre-Columbian days is, to my mind, the 
strongest evidence against the Old World origin of 
the Indian. And it is the strongest evidence against 
any direct communication between America and the 
eastern hemisphere previous to the coming of the 
Spaniards. Had there been communication it is 
inconceivable that the wheel should not have been 
introduced to America, for, ages before the time of 
Columbus, it was known to civilized and semicivilized 
man throughout the entire Old World. 

These are but a few of the many reasons which 
might be cited in support of or in contradiction to 
various theories of the origin of the American 
Indian. A volume might be filled with others, but 
the above will serve to illustrate the basis of these 
theories. Whenever facts or arguments are pro- 
duced in support of one theory, the opposition can 
find others to offset and nullify them. It is a con- 
troversy which may never be settled to every one’s 
satisfaction. We may never know positively who 
the American Indians are. However, at any time 
some discovery may be made which will settle the 
question for all time. 


CHAPTER II 
PREHISTORIC AMERICANS 


O one can state definitely how long the American 

Indians have inhabited the western hemisphere. 
And no one can positively state that the earliest 
denizens of the New World were of the same race 
as the Indians of modern times. We know, from 
innumerable remains, rude stone implements and 
weapons, and fragments of skeletons, that America 
has been inhabited by man for thousands of years, 
but, as yet, no human remains have ever been found 
in America which are anywhere near as ancient as 
the remains of man found in Europe and other por- 
tions of the Old World. In Europe, Africa, Asia, 
and elsewhere, skulls and skeletal fragments have 
been found which, regardless of whether we believe 
in the Darwinian theory or not, are unquestionably 
the remains of beings very distinct from any living 
race of man, and scarcely above the apes in intelli- 
gence and other characteristics. The series of such 
remains forms an almost unbroken chain of develop- 
ment from the lowest types to man as we know him, 
and proves that the races of the Old World origi- 
nated and advanced in the districts they inhabited 
and in which they left the enduring traces of their 
occupancy. 


As yet nothing of this sort has been found in the 
18 7 


PREHISTORIC AMERICANS 19 


western hemisphere. In every case, human remains 
so far discovered in America are, anatomically, prac- 
tically identical with the skeletal structure of exist- 
ing Indians. All are, geologically, modern, al- 
though extremely ancient as reckoned in terms of 
years. And we know, too, from ruins and handi- 
work, that many prehistoric American peoples had 
attained a high state of culture and civilization cen- 
turies before Columbus set forth on his famous 
voyages. For any race to rise from primitive sav- 
agery to the heights attained by these races, for men 
to evolve, develop, and perfect distinctive cultures 
and arts requires countless centuries, and as the 
civilizations, arts, and cultures of the prehistoric 
Americans were wholly distinct from those of any 
other portion of the world, we know that men must 
have dwelt in America for inconceivable ages and 
must have slowly evolved from lowly savages to the 
highly intelligent, cultured, and civilized beings 
whom the first Europeans found in Mexico, Peru, 
and elsewhere. Even those tribes which had not 
attained such heights had developed characters, 
habits, customs, beliefs, arts, and traits entirely 
distinct from those of any Old World races. All of 
this must have required thousands of years of life 
in the environment to which they had fitted them- 
selves. 

Unfortunately, the first chapters of the story of 
the Indian are shrouded in mystery, while many 
pages of the Indian’s later history are missing, for 
the invading Spaniards and later Europeans ruth- 
lessly destroyed priceless records and material 


20 THE AMERICAN INDIAN _ 


which, did we but possess them to-day, would throw — 
much light on the story of the prehistoric Americans. — 
As it is, we are forced to piece the story together 
as best we may, finding a bit here, a bit there, build- 
ing from the crumbling remains hidden in moun- — 
tains, deserts, and jungles, sifting the accounts and ~ 
tales of the conquerors and early European adven- 
turers, delving in musty old manuscripts and worm- 
eaten tomes, searching in vast forests and hidden. 
caves, Shoes in the reeking earth of the tropics, 
searching tombs and graves, reconstructing crum- 
bling ruins, and studying fragments of pottery, 
stone, and metalwork. It is, in fact, much like put- 
ting together a jig-saw picture puzzle on a gigantic 
scale with many of the most important pieces miss- — 
ing. It is fascinating work and, through the many ~ 
years that countless skilled scientists have been ~ 
laboring at it, much has been accomplished—far | 
: 


more in fact than the public is aware of and far ~ 
more than might be expected from the material 
available. | 
But still we have very little definite information. 4 
regarding the antiquity of man in America. Indeed, — 
it is practically impossible to say which of the vari- — 
ous cultures and civilizations, which of the more — 
primitive types of human remains, is the oldest. — 
Aside from the stone implements and occasional bits _ 
of human bones which are found from time to time © 
deeply buried in earth and gravel, and which far 
antedate the modern Indian, we have, within the 
borders of the United States, many remains of far — 
more cultured and advanced races of whose history — 


Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation 


SCULPTURED SLAB, STONE SEAT, 
MANABI CULTURE, ECUADOR MANABI CULTURE, ECUADOR 
ARYBAL, INcA, PERU JAR, PRE-INcA, Nasca, 


PERU 


IncA OR PRE-INCA CULTURE 


Textile, Lake Titicaca 
Section of Wall, Cuzco, Peru 


PREHISTORIC AMERICANS 21 


we know little and the antiquity of which is largely 
guesswork. Such are the famous mounds of the 
central states, the cave dwellings of our southern 
states, the salt caves of the western states, the 
ancient pueblos and the cliff dwellings... 

Although the mounds of the Mississippi and Ohio 
valleys have been known since the days of the first 
Kuropean visitors to those districts; although many 
theories have been advanced in regard to them and 
their builders; although vast amounts of material, 
in the form of artifacts and implements, have been 
taken from the mounds; still they remain a puzzle, 
an unsolved mystery, and few archeologists care to 
express any definite opinion regarding the race 
which constructed them and used them as burial 
places. That the mound builders were, racially, 
akin to if not identical with the existing American 
Indian, is unquestionable, for, within the past year, 
several very complete skeletons have been obtained 
from some of the mounds. But that the mound 
builders were distinct from any of the other North 
American tribes is also definitely established. No 
other tribe built such immense, carefully designed 
mounds; no other tribe possessed the same type of 
utensils, weapons, and ornaments. The recently 
discovered human remains, still covered with their 
decorations, their pearl-encrusted garments, their 
finely woven textiles, and with their copper helmets 
intact, prove that the mound builders were, in many 
arts and cultures, far in advance of the Indian tribes 
which inhabited the district at the time of the advent 
of the Europeans. 


22 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


And yet no one can place any exact or even ap- 
proximate date as the period when these mysterious 
people lived and died and built their vast mounds. 
Some scientists have asserted that the mound 
builders showed evidences of Mayan influence and 
that it was their belief that the ancient Mayas of 
Mexico and Central America once held sway over 
much of our west and southwest and established 
colonies or trading posts in the Mississippi Valley. 
But, if this is so, we are faced with the fact that 
no really distinctive traces of Mayan influence have 
yet been found in all that vast territory between the 
area occupied by the mound builders and the country 
of the IMayas. | | 

Much the same condition, as regards their an- 
tiquity, exists in regard to the cave dwellers of 
Kentucky and other southern states, the cliff dwell- 
ers of the West, the occupants of the salt and bat 
caves of Utah and Nevada, and other prehistoric 
denizens of the United States. In some of these 
caves, vast numbers of specimens have been found 
which, when cleaned and placed on exhibition in a 
museum, appear so perfect, so fresh, and so un- 
touched by time that it is almost impossible for the 
layman to believe that they are ee 
ancient. 

In the Museum of the American Indian, Heye 
Foundation, in New York City, one may'see baskets, 
feather robes, delicate woven fish nets, wooden 
utensils, and even stuffed and mounted ducks and 
geese, which were used as decoys, as perfectly pre- 
served as though prepared or made yesterday. 


PREHISTORIC AMERICANS 23 


Even the mummified bodies of the cave dwellers are 
there, still wrapped in their blankets and fur and 
feather robes, and it seems incredible that hundreds, 
probably thousands, of years, have passed since the 
various objects were left deserted in the caves. Yet 
all of these were found deeply buried under many 
feet of bat guano which, slowly accumulating 
through the centuries, had acted as a preservative 
for the treasures underneath. 

All of the articles found in these bat caves prove 
beyond question that the cave dwellers were far 
more than savages, that even at the far distant time 
when they lived they had reached a certain stage of 
culture, had acquired arts and handicrafts, and that 
they were modern as compared with their primitive 
ancestors of whose existence we have no trace. 

It must be remembered that much of our lack of 
knowledge of the earliest Americans is due to the 
fact that, only under unusual or peculiar conditions 
are perishable objects preserved for any great 
length of time when buried in the earth. Only pot- 
tery and stonework resist the action of the elements 
and resist decay and disintegration, whereas, within 
sheltered caves, within cliff dwellings and pueblos, 
or even in well-made tombs, the most fragile and per- 
ishable objects may remain in perfect condition for 
thousands of years. 

Little can be learned, regarding the comparative 
antiquity or sequence of various arts and cultures, 
by studying such material as pottery, stone artifacts, 
carvings, etc. It might be thought that a fairly 
accurate sequence of tribal development might be 


24 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


constructed in this way, for at first thought we might 
assume that the skill which a race showed in making 


stone implements or pottery would be a key to their 
antiquity or cultural status; that crude implements 
and a lack of pottery would indicate a more ancient 
race than well-made stone articles and highly fin- 
ished pottery. But, very often, this is far from being 
the case. In many instances, races which had 
reached the highest attainments in ceramic arts had 
never learned to make even passably good stone 
tools and weapons, while other races, which had 
developed stone-working to a high art, had never 
discovered how to make anything but the crudest 
pottery. | 

Moreover, it is highly probable that the art of 
basketry far antedated pottery, and that wooden 
implements and weapons were used for ages before 
man first learned to chip or rub stone into shape. 
Indeed, in our western caves and cliff dwellings, 
many specimens have been found which prove that 
baskets were used before earthenware. LHven 
after primitive Americans discovered how to mold 
and bake clay, the pots and other vessels were 
formed by plastering the clay over a basket woven 
in the desired form, and the pattern of the basket 
may be plainly traced on the baked surface of the 
pottery. 

But whether the cave dwellers came before the 
cliff dwellers, or vice versa, is an unsettled question. 
It is not improbable, however, that both these and 
the pueblo dwellers were closely related, if not of 
the same race, for it is an easy and natural step for 


PREHISTORIC AMERICANS 25 


a cave-dwelling race to form more commodious 
. dwellings by constructing artificial caves in a cliff, 
and from a partly excavated and partly built-up 
cliff dwelling it is a still easier step to evolve a 
pueblo which, after all, is nothing more nor less than 
an artificial cliff built up of houses. Beyond doubt, 
also, the inhabitants of the caves sought these cav- 
erns and used them as dwellings largely because of 
their inaccessible situations and their protective ad- 
vantages. Exactly the same reasons led to the cliff 
dwellers’ habits. The outstanding features of a 
pueblo are its doorless houses and blank walls, its 
almost fortresslike inaccessibility when the ladders, 
which admit ingress to the houses, are drawn up, and 
its defensive possibilities. 

That the cave and cliff dwellers, like the pueblo 
dwellers, were subject to attacks by hostile and sav- 
age tribes is proved abundantly by specimens which 
may be seen in various museums. Many skeletons 
and bones have been found which show stone arrow- 
heads embedded in the bones. Some of these evi- 
dently proved fatal, for the splintered bones are still 
rough and sharp about the arrowheads. In other 
cases the bony tissues healed and partly covered the 
weapon and the victims lived on for years, although 
they must have been most uncomfortable and in 
constant agony. One specimen, in the Museum of 
the American Indian, Heye Foundation, shows an ar- 
row point embedded in the knee joint where, at every 
motion, it must have caused excruciating pain, al- 
though the wound in the bone was perfectly healed 
and had grown about the stone arrowhead. Many 


26 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


of these specimens telling of savage warfare, long 
centuries before the advent of Europeans, prove 
that the cliff and cave dwellers were seeking refuge 
when attacked. In these the arrow points are em- 
bedded in the back of the pelvis, the back of the 
thighs and the spine, and their positions show that 


they were fired from below and struck when the © | 


victims were clambering upward in a vain effort to 
seek the safety of their dwellings in the cliffside. 


But whether the mound builders, the cave dwellers, — 


or the cliff dwellers were the most ancient of Ameri- 
cans of whom we find complete remains, there is no 
doubt that they were all Indians, and the same is 
true of the far more cultured and civilized races of 
Mexico, Central and South America. 

Very little is definitely known regarding the 
earlier prehistoric American races and cultures. 
The mound builders may be the most ancient, but 
as yet we cannot say who these people were, or even 
approximately estimate the age of their remains. 
But we know that they were much farther along the 
road to civilization than most of the Indians inhabit- 
ing North America at the time of its discovery by 
Europeans. Their stone artifacts and pottery were 
not very different from those of other tribes of the 
Mississippi and Ohio valleys, but they had learned 
the use of metal, and made excellent ornaments, 
masks, helmets, and implements of copper, and used 
fresh-water pearls extensively.* 


1 Quite recently the theory has been advanced that the mound 
builders were driven from their homes by a supposed invasion of 
the Norsemen in the twelfth century and, wandering southward, 
formed the Aztec civilization. The sponsor of this theory bases his 


PREHISTORIC AMERICANS 27 


Very ancient, and unquestionably the oldest of 
true cultures in the west and southwest, were the 
basket-makers, so called because of the high quality 
of their baskets and the fact that they had not 
learned the use of pottery. Some of the later basket- 
makers, however, apparently made a few articles of 
crude pottery. Most of the known remains of these 
people have been obtained from caves where the dry 
atmosphere and bat dung have preserved even the 
most fragile and perishable objects in marvelous 
manner. Beautiful baskets, stuffed birds used for 
decoys, robes of fur and feathers, wooden utensils 
and weapons, fish nets, and even the bodies of the 
Indians, are all found in perfect condition. In many 
cases, too, the basket-makers’ remains are found in 
graves covered deeply with the refuse and accumu- 
lated remains of the later cliff dwellers. 

These cliff dwellers, who first occupied caves and 
later walled these up and built stone houses within 
them, were much more advanced than the basket- 


assumptions on ancient myths and legends of the Indians and on 
the religions and other customs of the Aztecs, claiming that the 
Aztec god known as the plumed serpent, was in reality a 
‘Viking whose chain mail and winged helmet resembled a snake’s 
scales and plumed head. All of this seems, at first glance, 
quite logical and reasonable. But the enthusiastic advocate of the 
theory seems to have overlooked the rather important fact that the 
civilization of the Aztecs and their belief in the plumed serpent had 
existed for ages before the twelfth century, as we know from archxo- 
logical and geological evidence. Moreover, we have abundant proof, 
in the form of prehistoric remains, that long before the dawn of 
Aztec civilization, even more ancient Central American tribes 
revered the plumed serpent and perpetuated the god in their sculp- 
tures, carvings, and decorations on their ceramics. The Incan 
empire, probably the youngest of American civilizations, had existed 
for over five centuries before Pizarro reached Peru, or over one 
hundred years before the date attributed to the Norsemen’s visit. 


28 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


makers. They were doubtless the ancestors of the 
present-day Pueblos who merely abandoned natural 
caves in favor of man-made, cavelike dwellings. 
Farther south, in Mexico and Central and South 
America, were innumerable other races much more 
cultured and civilized than any of the North Ameri- 
can tribes. Very little is known regarding many of 
these, although their remains show an advanced cul- 
ture and a high development of many arts which 
range all the way from beautiful ceramics and no- 
table stone sculptures to the highest attainments in 
engineering, astronomy, and architecture. 

Among the cultures of which we really know 
nothing may be mentioned the Chiriqui culture of 
Panama, the Nicoya culture of Costa Rica, the Coclé 
culture, and the Manabi culture of Ecuador. The 
Costa Rican cultures and the Chiriqui culture are 
very similar and were probably identical. The out- 
standing features of this cultural group are the 
various forms of well-made pottery utensils, some 
in polychrome, the extensive use of animal, human, 
and other natural forms in ceramics and sculptures, 
and the preponderance of three-legged urns, together 
with beautifully designed and cleverly executed ob- 
jects of gold. Many of these are cast hollow, others 
are made by combining casting and welding, and 
others are of filigree work. 

Jumping from southern Costa Rica and Paria 
to Ecuador, we find the remarkable Manabi culture 
of which we know nothing. Here the outstanding 
features are the wonderfully carved stone slabs or 
tablets, and immense stone seats resembling the old 


PREHISTORIC AMERICANS 29 


Roman chairs. These are found scattered on the 
hills in the jungle with no traces of ruined cities 
or buildings, the supposition being that the race 

_ erected wooden or cane buildings which disappeared 

countless centuries ago. In their pottery, the 

Manabi race had reached a high state of perfection 

and had developed a typical form of long, slender 

vessels with pointed bottoms. They used animal and 
human figures extensively, and had a highly de- 
veloped artistic taste, as shown in the colors and 
designs used on their ceramics and sculptures. They 
were among the most clever and remarkable of gold- 
smiths; many of their beautifully wrought gold 
beads were smaller than the head of a common pin, 
the chased ornamentation peas visible only through 

a magnifying glass. 

Far more advanced in the art of ceramics and per- 
haps, indeed probably, the most ancient of known 
cultures in Central America, was the race which, 
thousands of years ago, inhabited the Coclé district 
of Panama. Its existence was undreamed of until 
_ discovered by the author two years ago. That this 
was a large race and that the district was inhabited 
by a vast population is proved by the fact that their 
remains cover an area of over fifty square miles and 
that, in many places, the deposits of potsherds and 
other refuse cover hundreds of acres for a depth of 
many yards. 

In their pottery these Coclé people excelled any 
other known American race with the exception of 
the Incan races. The bulk of the Coclé pottery is 
polychrome ware. Bright reds, yellows, blues, and 


30 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


purples predominate, the last two colors being uf- 


known on any other prehistoric American ceramics. — 


Many of their vessels were made in two layers, the 
inner surface being one color and the outer another. 
In other cases true color slips were used, and many 
pieces show a true though rather primitive glaze. 
In coloring their pottery these people used pulver- 
ized agates, metallic ores, etc., which served the 
dual purpose of tempering and coloring the clay. 
In form and size the pottery ranges from saucers 
and plates to ollas, carafes, pots, and urns several 
feet in diameter. The three-legged type is almost 
wanting, molded animal and human figures are not 


common, while portrait jars and sculptured or en- 


graved ceramics are abundant. 


In decorative patterns the ware is most Bistingieon ; 
the typical motif of the culture being intricate and — 


beautifully designed scrolls which are worked into 
conventional designs and into animal, bird, veg- 
etable, and human figures which, though intricate 


and conventionalized, are easily recognizable. Many 


of the vessels are strikingly Egyptian in form and 
decorations, figures resembling mummy cases being 
used commonly, together with pyramidal figures, 
scarablike figures, the ibis, and the lotus motifs. 


In their stone sculptures also these Indians had — 


reached a high state of culture. Most notable of 


these are the numerous stone idols or monuments, 
representing human beings and various animals. 


These were usually carved at the top of a large 
squared or cylindrical stone column and were most 


accurately and artistically designed and sculptured. 


nee &. a 2s ¥ . - 
a : ; 
— 5 7 i = % ~~ ~ a ’ E 
_— aww J ne — ‘ss eee % 


SVUNGNOH HSILIg OOIXdJ, “AYNLINDG omLzy 
‘AYOLIND VAV]L “Issa, AYALLOg ‘OIVSOW ASIONDYN]T, HLTA GOOAA JO GISIHY 


Uouvpunoy aha ‘unipuy Unoiwamyp ay? fo wnasnj 


Photographs by the author 


CocL& CULTURE, PANAMA 


Stone Column Column with “Elephant” Figure Stone Idols 
Sacrificial Altar 
Plate of Polychrome Ware Plate of Red, Blue, and Black Ware 
Urn with Purple, Red and Black Decorations 


PREHISTORIC AMERICANS 31 


It was among these that the ‘‘elephant’’ figure 
mentioned in Chapter I was found. This would 
seem to prove conclusively that the Coclé people 
were either in communication with Asia or else had 
traditional knowledge of prehistoric American 
pachyderms. 

In addition to the stone sculptures, the Coclé 
people erected vast numbers of immense stone 
phallic columns or steles, some roughly squared, 
others worked to cylindrical form, and others elab- 
orately carved in figures which appear to be hiero- 
glyphic inscriptions, or at least symbolic records. 
In one spot are the remains of a vast temple or 
ceremonial place covering fully one hundred acres. 
Hundreds of the huge stone columns and carved 
stone idols are arranged in rows running north and 
south and east and west, to form a quadrangle. The 
stone monoliths radiate from a central column sur- 
rounded by four fine stone figures, one a man, an- 
other a woman, the third a bird, and the fourth a 
jaguar. 

Throughout this area, remains of ‘‘sacrificed”’ or 
‘‘killed’’ stone implements, artifacts and weapons, 
metates, small idols or fetishes, ornaments, and in- 
calculable numbers of magnificent pottery vessels 
were found everywhere, from a few inches to ten 
or twelve feet below the surface. On altarlike stone 
slabs the remains of human sacrifices were discov- 
ered. Here, too, were obtained two wonderfully 
sculptured sacrificial stones or altars. 

In the vicinity of the temple and throughout the 
area of remains, burials were numerous. In every 


32 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


case these show that the body was placed in’ an 
immense pottery urn in a shallow clay-lined grave 
and was then cremated, the fire at the same time 
baking the clay grave lining. During the ceremo- 
nies it is evident that the people gathered about 
and sacrificed their belongings by casting them into 
the funeral fire for, in every instance, the graves 
are filled with vast numbers of broken utensils, ves- 
sels, weapons, ete. 

Although they had reached such a high culture 
in many directions, yet, as is the case with the 
Manabi culture, the Coclé people were still in a most 
primitive condition as regards stone implements and 
weapons. Very few of the thousands of stone arti- 
facts found are even passably good, and the majority 
are little more than crudely shaped bits of stone. 
The spear and arrowheads are very poor; the axes 
and celts are with few exceptions crude. How the 
race could have done such amazing work — such 
miserable tools is a mystery. 

Also remarkable is the fact that these oe Mad 
not learned to use copper or gold. With the excep- 
tion of a beautifully made nose ring of bloodstone 
with gold-capped tips, no trace of gold was discov- 
ered among the remains, and it is not improbable 
that the gold used on this ornament was obtained 
by trade from some other tribe. 

In many ways the cultural characteristics of the 
Coclé race are similar to Mayan art, while in other 
ways they are reminiscent of Incan culture; yet 


they are totally distinct from any. Whether the — 


Coclé race, living midway between the Incan and 


Se ae oe 


SC ee Pa a ee ee ee ee en 


a 


PREHISTORIC AMERICANS 33 


Mexican civilizations, was influenced by both, or 
whether the Coclés were the predecessors of the 
Mexican and Incan cultures, is unknown. But, as 
nearly as we can judge, the Coclé culture antedated 
any of the better-known so-called civilizations of the 
prehistoric American races. 

Over the tops of the largest stone figures, decayed 
vegetable matter and earth has accumulated to a 
depth of seven or eight feet, and as the figures orig- 
inally stood for fully four feet above the surface of 
the earth, the total accumulation of mold is from 
ten to fifteen feet. Above the uppermost deposits of 
potsherds is only a foot or less of deposit. Assum- 
ing that the spot was inhabited and in use up to the 
time of the Spanish conquest, and that this super- 
ficial layer of mold represents not more than four 
hundred years’ deposit, the time which has elapsed 
since the stone monoliths were carved and erected 
could not be less than four thousand years, and 
was probably at least twice that. 

Moreover, it has been stated by dependable au- 
thorities that the Mayas erected a phallic monument 
every twenty years, and if the Coclé people followed 
a similar custom, then the hundreds of such steles 
in the temple site alone would indicate an age of 
thousands of years. Likewise, the great depth of 
the deposits of sacrificed or killed objects which 
often surround the idols and monuments would indi- 
cate that the district was inhabited and the temple 
used for fully two thousand years. 

Naturally the question arises as to why these 
people deserted the district and completely disap- 


34 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 
peared. The answer I think is to be found in the 


proximity of the voleano of Guacamayo which, even 


to-day, still shows signs of activity. This voleano is 
barely six miles from the temple site, and much of 
the intervening territory is covered to a depth of 
several feet with a deposit of volcanic ash of com- 
paratively recent formation. Under this ash, re- 
mains of villages, pottery, stone artifacts, and bur- 
ials were found, and the condition of the monu- 
ments and stone idols shows conclusively that they 
were subjected to terrific earthquakes. Hence it is 
reasonable to assume that a volcanic eruption de- 
stroyed many of the people and drove the others 
from their homes and that, frightened and dismayed, 
and with their sacred idols cast down and broken by 
the earth tremors, the survivors sought refuge in 
far distant lands and entirely lost their cultures, or 
perhaps, joined forces with other races and so in- 
troduced certain features of their arts and cultures 
to other tribes. 

But as we do not definitely know the age of the 
Coclé, Mayan, Toltec-Aztec, or pre-Incan civiliza- 
tions or cultures we cannot say positively which of 
all these was the most ancient. Space forbids a de- 
tailed description of the Aztecs, Mayas, pre-Incas, 
or Incas which are the best known of early American 
civilizations and which form a subject by themselves. 
Moreover, many volumes have been published re- 
garding these, although, unfortunately, much mis- 
iaformation and many exaggerated statements have 
been written about them. 

Of the three, for we must include the Incan and 


7 PS Se 


PREHISTORIC AMERICANS 30 


pre-Incan cultures under one head, the Mayan civi- 
lization probably reached the highest point. The 
Mayas were notable for their extensive and magnifi- 
cently sculptured buildings, their high attainments 
in astronomy and other sciences, their gold work, 
and their beautiful polychrome and intricately sculp- 
tured pottery. They had a written or rather 
sculptured language, consisting of hieroglyphs which 
are now decipherable, and by means of which we may 
secure a deep knowledge of their organization and 
life. Human sacrifices were common, and selected 
virgins were cast into a sacred well which has given 
up great numbers of ceremonial objects, ornaments, 
etc., of gold, copper, and stone. Vast numbers of 
bronze bells have also been found. 

Recent excavations have revealed hitherto unex- 
pected and unknown features of the Mayan civiliza- 
tion. Among these discoveries is an observatory or 
tower provided with slitlike apertures for studying 
the heavens, numerous beautifully painted carvings, 
frescoes, mosaics, and mural decorations. 

In many respects the Aztec civilization closely 
resembled the Mayan, which is not surprising, as at 
certain periods the Toltecs influenced the Mayas and 
vice versa. The outstanding features of the Toltec- 
Aztec culture were the sacrificial stones on which, 
at the summits of pyramidal temples, human sacri- 
fices were made to the sun god and other deities; 
the huge stone yokes used to secure the victims of 
the sacrifices; the beautifully wrought and often 
immense knives, spear heads, and other implements 
of obsidian; mirrors of polished obsidian; magnifi- 


36 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


cent mosaics of turquoise on wood, in the form of 


plaques, shields, masks, ete.; copper or bronze tools 


and weapons; elaborately ornamented and decorated 
pottery, often made.in halved molds; carved onyx 


and semiprecious stones; feather cloaks and gar- 


ments; and immense pyramids and magnificent 
buildings. 
Like the Mayas, the Aztecs delighted in producing 


symbolic human figures of most intricate and elabo- 


rate design, in both stone and pottery; and like the 


Mayas, the Aztecs possessed an intimate and ad-, 


vanced knowledge of astronomy and had a cleverly 


designed and accurately commas calendar Sew Ry 


tured in stone. 

Moreover, their records were prenercion by means 
of codices, strips of material bearing painted figures, 
characters, etc., many of which are preserved in the 
various museums. Originally these codices were 
painted on parchment, later they were made of bark 
cloth, and still later they were painted on a tough 
paper made of the amote fiber. 

Prominent among the Aztec deities was Chacmool, 
a god who is usually represented in a reclining po- 
sition with his hands resting on a platelike object 
on his stomach, and the plumed serpent, the god 
of war. But these and other gods were not dis- 
tinctively Aztec nor exclusively confined to that 
race. Both oceur, together with many others, in 
Mayan sculptures and ceramics, and the plumed ser- 
pent is represented on many of the pottery speci- 
mens from the Coclé cultural remains. Just how far 
south these gods were worshiped is not known, but 


a ee ee ee en 


PREHISTORIC AMERICANS 37 


statues of Chacmool have been obtained in Guate- 
mala and Honduras. Mayan influence extended as 
far as Bocas del Toro in Panama, and the Guaymis 
of Chiriqui in Panama show unmistakable traces of 
Aztec ancestry and influences. 

Distinct from any of these Mexican and Central 
American cultures and civilizations were the so- 
called civilizations of the Incas and _ pre-Incas. 
While the Aztecs and Mayas excelled in stone sculp- 
ture and elaborately ornamental stone buildings and 
in the arts, the Incas were preéminently engineers 
and organizers. | 

Little is really known of their origin or age, de- 
spite the fact that the Incan empire was thriving at 
the time of Pizarro. But that the true Incas were of 
comparatively recent origin is well known. Accord- 
ing to tradition at the time of the Spanish conquest 
there had been fourteen Incas or rulers, the first be- 
ing Manco Capac who reigned about 1000 a.p., or 
little more than five hundred years before the ar- 
rival of the Spaniards. This chronology is without 
doubt largely legendary, and little if any reliance 
can be placed upon the estimated age of the Incan 
Empire. Written or accurately recorded history 
was unknown to the Incas, and tradition by word 
of mouth is always unreliable. It is inconceivable 
that the Indians should have reached such a high 
state of culture in five centuries, especially as the 
pre-Incan culture had been completely forgotten. 
The chances are that the Incan Empire had existed 
for nearer five thousand than five hundred years 
before the arrival of the Spaniards. Following this 


38 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


first Inca were Sinchin Roca, Lloque Yupanqui, 
Maita Capac, Capac Yupanqui, Inca Roca, Yahuar 
Huanac, Huira Cocha, Pacha Cutec, Amaru Inca, 
Tupac Yupanqui, Huayna Capac, Huascar, and 
Atahualpa. Atahualpa was murdered by Pizarro 
and ended the Inca line as far as rulers were con- 
cerned, although lineal descendants of the line still 
exist and are regarded as regal by the Indians of 
Peru and Bolivia (see Chapter IV). 

Long before the first Inca saw the light of day, 
however, a well organized and highly developed 
civilization had existed in Peru and Bolivia. Just 
who these pre-Incas were is uncertain; but we know 
that their monolithic statues, their marvelous en- 
gineering feats, their magnificent pottery, and their 
innumerable arts were often far superior to those of 


the true Incas, and much of the so-called Inca work 


is in reality pre-Inca. 

In all probability the pre-Incan culture of Tia- 
huanaco and about Lake Titicaca was of Quichua 
origin and was destroyed by the Collas of the 
Aimara race. The surviving Quichuas were thus 
scattered and became divided into subtribes such as 
the Yungas of the coast under Chimu, with their 
capital at Chanchan; the Tumbes about Supa and 
at Pachacamac, under Cuis Manco and Chuquis 
Manco; the Chinchas and Nazcas, the Huancas, Caja- 
marcas, and Porcas in the northern mountainous 
areas and the Quichuas in the south. 

All these diversified tribes were later reorganized 
and confederated by Manco Capac, the first known 


Inca, and became the Incan empire which eventually 


es 


PREHISTORIC AMERICANS 39 


extended through Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and parts 
of Argentine and Chile, an area more than 3,600 
miles in length by 450 miles in width. Much of this 
area was not, however, entirely under Incan rule. 
Many of the wilder tribes of the tropical montaiia 
of the interior were never conquered and never 
bowed to Incan rule, and many of the Chilean and 
other races merely paid annual tribute to the em- 
pire and were otherwise independent. Under the 
Incan organization were more than ten million In- 
dians, thus making the Incan tribes the largest and 
most complete confederation in America, with their 
capital at Cuzco, and their most sacred and holy 
city at Pachacamac near the present city of Lima. 

But it must not be supposed that the Incas were 
a race, as many seem to think. The term Inca merely 
signified a ruler or king. No one tribe was known 
as Inca, although to-day certain Indians of Bolivia, 
who claim to be of royal lineage, call themselves 
Incas. 

Primarily and most notably, the Incas were ad- 
vanced and most successful socialists. Hach village 
or district was devoted to certain arts or industries, 
men and women were married off and they and their 
children allotted by law to districts where the popu- 
lation required additions, individual rights were sub- 
servient to the commonwealth, and the people were 
little more than cogs in a stupendous socialistic 
wheel. 

Naturally, under such conditions, the life, indus- 
tries, attainments, and even the cities of the Incas 


40 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


varied tremendously. In the agricultural districts 
the cities were of adobe or dried mud, in the moun- 
tains they were of stone, and the costumes, customs, 
and every detail of Incan life varied according to 
the people’s environment and place in the scheme of 
things. As a consequence, and as will ever be the 
result.of any attempt to enforce socialism on a com- 
munity, the Incan empire was torn by rebellions and 
civil strife which unquestionably would have re- 
sulted in the destruction of the confederation even 
if it had not been destroyed by the Spaniards. 
Aside from their power of organization and the 
conquest of many and widely diversified and often 
antagonistic tribes, the outstanding marvels of the 
Incas were their engineering feats. They built im- 
mense walls of enormous stones which often weighed 
many tons and had twenty or more faces, so per- 
fectly cut and fitted together that even to-day a 
knife blade cannot be inserted between them. They 
erected suspension bridges across terrific cafons 
and anchored the stupendous fiber cables to holes 
cut through solid rock buttresses. They walled up 
tremendous ravines with gigantic masses of ma- 
sonry, and they drove huge tunnels through moun- 
tains. They constructed a road over two thousand 
miles in length through the most broken, rugged, 
and inaccessible portions of the Andes. In many 
places this was surfaced with asphalt, and portions 
of the highway are still in use, even by motor cars. 
Vast masses of stone, huge blocks weighing scores 
of tons, were quarried, cut, and moved for miles 
across rivers and over mountains, and whole moun- 


PREHISTORIC AMERICANS 41 


tain tops were leveled, hewn into chambers, seats, 
sculptures, and fortresses. 

Yet, as far as is known, the Incas Aad pre-Incas 
performed all their amazing feats with crude stone 
tools. To be sure, they possessed a knowledge of 
working gold, silver, and bronze. However, no 
bronze tool has ever been found which would cut 
even the softest rock, and gold was by no means 
so abundant or so widely used by the Incas as many 
stories would lead us to believe. Most of the Incan 
gold was obtained from subject tribes in the form 
of tribute, and by far the greater portion of the 
precious metal went into temple ornaments, re- 
ligious vessels, regal ornaments, and regalia and 
ceremonial objects. Judged from the standpoint 
of gold or other precious metals and gems, the 
great bulk of the Incan people were poverty- 
stricken; but of course, among a population of ten 
millions, the aggregate of gold was tremendous, for 
vast numbers of the people held official or religious 
positions and accumulated riches. , 

In their stone sculptures, aside from engineering, 
the Incas did not approach the Mayas or Aztecs, but — 
in their ceramics they excelled all prehistoric or 
historic American races. No pottery can compare 
with the polychrome ware from about Nasca, and 
the immense, highly decorated jars or arybals, some- 
times four feet in height, are marvels of the potter’s 
art and skill. In wood-carving the Incas also at- 
tained a highly artistic development, noticeable espe- 
cially in the woodwork which is decorated by enamel 
or lacquer designs which superficially resemble the 


42 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


finest clotsonné work. In textiles they also excelled 
all other American races, and their wonderfully 
finely woven, beautifully colored, and artistically de- 
signed woolen and cotton fabrics have no equals any- 
where and cannot be imitated by any machine. 

But despite their high attainments, despite the 
fact that they had invented scales and balances, had 
learned to make mirrors of polished marcasite, and 
had reached the pinnacle of perfection in many civi- 
lized industries and arts, yet the Incas never learned 
to write and never possessed even a hieroglyphic 
means of recording events. For computing arith- 
metical sums, they made use of trays divided into 
numerous compartments, and for sending messages, 
keeping records, and for many other purposes they 
employed a complicated and elaborate system of 
knotted strings or quipos. 

Unlike the Mayas, Aztecs, and Coclés, who dwelt 
in a tropical, damp climate and thus left little in 
the way of remains of perishable objects, the Incas 
lived in a land whose dry climate is admirably suiteds 
to the preservation of vegetal and animal remains. 
Hence, in their countless mummies, their ruined 
cities, and their vast burial places, we find a very 
complete record of Inca and pre-Inca life, customs, 
habits, dress, and occupations. The feather work, 
the finest textiles, and the most delicate threads of 
dyed cotton and wool, and every object are as fresh 
and bright as when buried hundreds of years ago. 
The bodies themselves, together with the bodies of 
dogs, birds, and other creatures are remarkably 
perfect and lifelike. 


PREHISTORIC AMERICANS 43 


Many of these Incan mummies reveal the fact that 
the Incan surgeons were most skilled, and possessed 
a knowledge of surgery and anatomy, as well as 
dentistry, which was far in advance of Huropean 
surgical knowledge of their time. Innumerable 
skulls show that trepanning was practiced, very 
frequently with complete success, as proved by the 
healed edges of the bone. Amputations were also 
common, and it is not unusual to find skulls with 
teeth filled, capped, crowned, and bridged. Whether 
or not the Incan doctors possessed a knowledge of 
anesthetics we cannot say, but as coca was known 
to them as was the pain-killing effect of cocaine, 
it is not improbable that this drug was used as it is 
to-day. But even then, such delicate operations 
must have been most agonizing, and we can only 
marvel at an Incan surgeon’s successfully cutting 
away a section of a man’s skull by means of stone 
instruments. 


CHAPTER III 
- MISCONCEPTIONS AND MISTAKEN IDEAS 


O most persons, an Indian is an Indian, and we 
continually hear the terms ‘‘Red Indian,” 
‘*Redskin,’’ ‘*Redman,’’ etc., applied to members of 
the American Indian race. But it is a great mistake 
to think that all Indians are alike, or even similar, 
and it is an even greater mistake to think that all In- 
dians are red, brown, or even copper colored. The 
natives of the Bahama Islands, whom the Spaniards 
were the first to meet, were, it is true, brownish or 
copper colored, and through the centuries the idea 
has prevailed that all Indians were the same color. 
As a matter of fact, Indians vary all the way from al- 
most black to a pale olive, scarcely darker than a 
brunet white man. Asa rule the northern tribes are 
lighter than the southern tribes; but even in tropical 
America there are many tribes whose skins are light 
olive, and whose children and young women might 
easily pass for white, as far as complexion goes. — 
I have yet to meet a truly ‘‘red’’ Indian, and I 
doubt if such exists; but many Indians have the 
custom of smearing themselves with red ocher or 
other red pigments, and, even when washed off, the 


pigment leaves a red stain which the casual observer 
44 


MISTAKEN IDEAS 45 


might easily mistake for the natural color of the 
skin. Most Indians are yellow rather than red and 
the shade varies from a very pale yellowish to a rich 
ocher brown, the majority of South and Central 
American Indians being of the latter shade. 

But the Andean tribes are as a whole quite light. 
They live at high altitudes and their cheeks are rosy 
and their complexions ruddy, giving them a Euro- 
pean rather than an Indian appearance. The 
Mapuches, of Chile, more commonly called Arau- 
canians, are also light, and as these Indians often 
wear mustaches or beards many of them might be 
easily mistaken for Europeans. Many of our North 
American Indians are also light skinned, when 
clean and not exposed to sun and wind, and many a 
civilized Indian passes unrecognized as such among 
the whites. 

It is also erroneous to think that Indians do not 
_ have beards or that all Indians shave off or pull out 
any hairs which appear upon their faces. To be 
sure, some tribes have little beard, or none at all, 
but others have well developed beards. Some do 
shave or extract the hairs, but on the other hand, 
others allow the beard to grow, and many of the 
men have well developed mustaches and chin 
whiskers. As a rule the beard is rather thin and 
Mongolian in character, but I have seen Mapuches 
and other Indians with heavy full beards. 

The same is true of the color of the eyes and hair. 
Although the majority of North American Indians 
have brown eyes and coarse, straight, black hair, 
there are tribes whose eyes are hazel, gray, or even 


46 THH AMERICAN INDIAN 


blue, and whose hair is brown rather than black, 
and is soft and fine. 

Indeed, if we read over all the accounts of the 
old discoverers and explorers we will find that, even 
in those days, the men who had actually traveled 
among the Indians had accurately described these 
variations. Dampier, the pirate naturalist, Ring- 
rose, Esquemeling, and many others called particu- 
lar attention to the light skins and brown hair of 
many tribes and, in several places in their journals, 
they state that the women are ‘‘as fair as any 
woman of Spain,’’ or that their hair ‘‘is exceeding 
long and soft and of a pleasing brown shade.’’ This 
proves that the light skins, brown hair, and gray 
eyes of some Indian tribes are not due to any ad- 
mixture of Caucasian blood. Neither do these char- 
acteristics have any relationship with the albino or 
so-called ‘‘ white Indians,’’ who are occasionally seen 
in nearly every known tribe, but are more numerous 
in some than in others. 

Likewise most erroneous are the popular concep- 
tions of the Indian’s physical characters and appear- 
ance. He is pictured as a tall, athletic, splendidly 
built and erect man, dignified, stoical, a man with 
broad face, square chin, high and prominent cheek 
bones, aquiline nose, thin lips, and narrow eyes. 
All of these characters may, it is true, be found 
among members of certain tribes, but they are by no 
means typical of all. Indians are not as a rule un- 
usually tall, and as a whole, they average less in 
stature than white men. Much of the Indian’s ap- 
parent height is due to the feather headdress. Many 


MISTAKEN IDEAS 47 


of the Indians of tropical America are almost 
dwarfs, the men averaging barely five feet in height 
while the women average a little over four feet. 

Nor is the average Indian either a powerfully 
built or a physically well-proportioned man. In 
their youth most Indians are rather slender and are 
sinewy rather than muscular, but as they grow 
older they are inclined to put on flesh and become 
very fat with paunches like aldermen’s. Many, es- 
pecially among the plains Indians, have bandy legs; 
they are usually pigeon-toed, and many tribes 
habitually stoop and are far from erect. In the case 
of forest- and mountain-dwelling tribes who walk a 
great deal, the body and limbs are usually well pro- 
portioned, but in the case of river Indians, especially 
those of tropical America, the chests and shoulders 
are usually out of all proportion to the lower trunk 
and limbs, this being due to constant paddling and 
little walking through countless generations. 

The facial characters of the Indians vary as 
widely as do their other characteristics. Many of 
our North American tribes, as well as some Central 
and South American tribes, do have aquiline noses, 
prominent cheek bones, and the other popularly 
accepted features of the Indian. But there are as 
many or more Indians who have low-bridged, rather 
flat noses, rounded cheeks, fairly thick lips, full eyes, 
and receding, pointed chins, while among the Andean 
tribes are many with enormously large, beaklike 
Semitic noses, commonly known as the ‘‘Inca nose,’’ 
narrow faces, and deep-set eyes. 

In other words, there is no distinct Indian type as 


48 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


far as physical characters or appearance goes: 
Many might be mistaken for Chinese or Japanese 


if dressed as such. Others are almost indistinguish-. 


able from Malays. Others might well be Hebrews. 
Some are almost Caucasian in appearance, and many 
are unmistakably Indian. But it would be just as 
erroneous and foolish to attempt to form a econ- 
ception of the typical European, or to picture 
Frenchmen, Englishmen, Germans, Italians, Span- 
ish, and Swedish all alike in physical characters, as 
to consider the American Indian races in that 
manner. 

Moreover, the Indians vary almost if not quite as 
much in their mental characteristics as in their ap- 
pearance. By no means all Indians are dignified, 
stoical, taciturn, lacking ina sense of humor, or 


sparing of speech. Before strangers most Indians 


are either shy, suspicious, or embarrassed, and they 
will often remain silent and unsmiling. But among 
themselves many of the tribesmen are talkative and 
full of fun, and chatter and laugh as freely as any 
one. I have yet to see the Indian who does not pos- 
Sess a sense of humor, and as a rule they dearly love 
practical jokes. Even the age-old belief that Indian 
babies never cry is entirely wrong. Indian children 
are, to be sure, quieter and less given to squalling 
ye white children, but crying babies among many 


tribes are as numerous and as Me ieee as 


among white families. 
Do not think for a moment that an Tui is 


immune to pain or suffering. An Indian may not 


show signs of pain or agony, for, through a sort of 


ae fe ee ee ee o ~— 


MISTAKEN IDEAS 49 


self-hypnosis or autosuggestion, he can put himself 
in a condition of semianesthesia during which he 
does not suffer as he would ordinarily. But unless 
he is prepared for the ordeal and has time to work 
himself into this state he is-as susceptible to pain 
as any man, and, in case of a sudden or sharp pain, 
he will often yell or exclaim like any ordinary 
mortal. 

Many a time I have seen an Indian jump up and 
let out an agonized cry when he sat on a lively hor- 
net; but I have seen the same Indian stand knee- 
deep in a nest of voracious, biting ants in order to 
gather the females or honey ants, which are con- 
sidered a great delicacy, and although his legs were 
covered with blood from the bites of the vicious 
creatures he did not even wince and was apparently 
immune to the pain. In the same way, I have known 
Indians to pry aching teeth from their mouths, or 
permit fingers to be amputated, without an anes- 
thetic and still never groaning, while the same In- 
dians would howl and jump about on one foot if 
they unexpectedly stepped on a thorn, or if a boulder » 
rolled on a toe. 

The fact is that most of our popular ideas of 
Indians have been derived from stories of our more 
familiar tribes and from lurid Wild West literature. 
Thus, when we speak of an Indian dwelling we 
call it a wigwam or a tepee, and think at once of a 
conical tent of bark or skins. But the bark wigwam 
is the home of our eastern and northern tribes (and 
not all of these at that), while the skin tepee is the 
home of many of the nomadic plains Indians. But 


30 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


there are more Indians dwelling in log, wattled, 
earth, sod, or thatched houses than in wigwams or 
tepees. Many of our eastern Indians built substan- 
tial houses; the ‘‘long house’’ of the Iroquois was 
of logs and bore no faintest resemblance to a wig- 
wam. The Mandans and other Indians of the West 
used beehive-shaped or domed houses of sods and 
earth. Other tribes, such as the Pueblos, erected 
adobe houses. The Seminoles and other southern 
tribes used open thatched-roof houses. Throughout 
tropical America the thatched house, either cpen at 
the sides or walled, is predominant, although houses 
of cane and mud walls are common. Substantial 
houses of split timbers are used by certain tribes, 
while in the high Andes the Indians build their huts 
of stones. 

So, too, we usually associate Indians with war 
whoops and scalps. But many an Indian tribe never 
heard or uttered a war whoop and would not know 
what it meant, while countless thousands of Indians 
never took a scalp and never had any desire to do 
so. With few exceptions scalping was confined to 
the North American tribes, and, even among these, 
the method of scalping, as well as the amount of 
scalp removed, varied greatly. Scalps are merely 
trophies and many tribes prefer a trophy in the 
shape of a dried or shrunken head, such as those 
prepared by the Jivaros of Peru, the ribs of an 
enemy, a thigh bone, a skull, a hand, or even an 
enemy’s teeth. Neither did all Indians wear a scalp 
lock. This was a custom of certain eastern and 
northern North American tribes, but far more nu- 


MISTAKEN IDEAS 51 


merous were the tribes who wore their hair as it 
grew, either braiding it in long plaits, brushing it in 
an upstanding pompadour, or bobbing it in quite 
up-to-date fashion. 

No doubt it will be quite a surprise to many to 
learn that the Indian man was not as lazy as popu- 
larly supposed and that the woman or squaw did not 
perform all the labor. Both men and women had 
their duties and allotted tasks. The man hunted, 
fished, fought, made his weapons and canoes, and 
did many other highly important things. And it 
was not only natural but essential to the safety of 
the tribe and the family that he should not exhaust 
his strength by doing things which the women could 
do as well or better. 

Between hunts and battles he rested and conserved 
his strength while the women cared for the children, 
tanned skins, made garments, cooked, and performed 
the other household duties. On the march, the 
women, among many tribes, looked after the taking 
down and setting up of the lodges and they carried 
the burdens; but this was necessary in order to 
allow the men to protect the travelers from enemies, 
scout out a route, and secure food, things which 
they could not have done if encumbered with 
burdens. 

Moreover, in the case of many tribes, the men 
worked fully as much if not more than the women. 
They tended the flocks and herds, hewed timbers 
and cut down trees, cleared land and planted seeds, 
brought firewood, and even helped about the house. 

Among many Central and South American tribes 


52 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


it is customary for the father to look after the chil- 
dren when at home, and one frequently sees a husky 
buck seated in his hammock, a tiny tot in his arms, 
another being jounced up and down on one knee, 
and others clambering over him. 

Among many of these tribes, too, the men spin 
the cotton twine and thread, although the women 
make the hammocks and weave the textiles, and the 
men make their own ornaments of feathers, beads, 
etc. Neither do the men of these tribes scorn to 
carry their share of burdens, and, if a woman is 
tired, they will often add a baby or two to their own 
loads. As a rule the division of labor between men 
and women among the Indians is very equitable. I 
have never seen an Indian woman who seemed to 
be overworked, and they always appear to have 
plenty of spare time for gossip and visiting. 

Another prevalent but false idea is that all In- 
dians are cruel and treacherous. Broadly speaking 
I should not say that Indians are cruel. They may 
—though this is by no means a universal custom— 
torture their captive enemies, but this, from the 
Indian standpoint is not cruelty but more or less 
of an honor. It gives the captive an opportunity 
to prove his bravery, and many an Indian would 
feel grossly insulted and much peeved if he knew 
he would not be tortured if made a prisoner by his 
enemies. f 

Neither must we forget that the standards by 
which we judge cruelty and other matters are not 
always the standards of other people. What may 
appear cruel to one man may not seem so to an- 


MISTAKEN IDEAS 53 


other. The Spaniard regards the bullfight as a legit- 
imate sport, but looks upon football as brutal. We 
shudder at vivisection but calmly split a living lob- 
ster in half or clean a living fish. We shoot a horse 
with a broken leg to put the creature out of its 
misery, and we use every effort and every device to 
prolong the life and the agony of a beloved one 
whose death we know positively is certain. 

Can we then declare in fairness that an Indian 
is cruel who, knowing a relative or friend is beyond 
hope, calmly knocks that person over the head? 
Can we accuse the Indian of being cruel because 
he does many things which he has been accustomed 
to doing from time immemorial, and which we de- 
nounce as cruel, when, at the same time, the Indian 
would be shocked at the, to his mind, cruel atrocities 
which we commit daily? 

Moreover, there are many tribes of Indians who 
are most tender-hearted and would not knowingly 
cause pain or suffering under any considerations. 
I have seen Indian men, while hunting, stop and 
pick up a fledgling and go to great trouble to re- 
store it to its nest. I have seen Indians change the 
site selected for their camp in order not to disturb 
a nesting bird or a litter of helpless kittens. I have 
seen an Indian in need of meat lower his weapons 
when he saw a fawn accompanying the doe he was 
about to kill. Many a time, I have watched Indians, 
after hauling a fish net, carefully gather up the fish 
they did not need and restore them to the water, 
whereas a white man under the same conditions 
would leave them to gasp and die and go to waste. 


o4 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


Many tribes are extremely fond of pets and their 
houses are filled with birds and quadrupeds, ranging 
from ocelots to mice and from eagles to manikins, 
all carefully cared for, and so attached to their 
Indian masters that they never strayed away, 
though free to go and come as they chose. Though 
some tribes kill the aged or infirm members of the 
tribe, while others cast them adrift in canoes, argu- 
ing that if God wants them to live He will preserve 
them, other tribes are most tender and solicitous 
and care for the helpless and aged members in avaeeh 
possible way. 

Much the same might be said as to Indian treach- 
ery. Until the Indian has come into close contact 
with the white men he is, as a rule, honest. He will 
keep a promise, and his word—like that of a China- 
man—is as good as his bond. I have known an In- 
dian to travel over five hundred miles through for- 
ests, across plains, along rapid-filled rivers, merely 
to return five dollars to a man who had advanced 
the money to purchase a hammock which, later on, 
the Indian could not obtain. In Chile, a banker told 
me that he would always loan an Indian any amount 
he desired and would not demand a written promise 
nor examine the Indian’s crops or flocks before giv- 
ing him the cash; and yet he had never lost a cent. 

I have always trusted the Indians among whom 
I have traveled and lived, and never yet has one 
broken a promise, failed in his word, tried to betray 
me, or in any manner been treacherous, although I 
have been among hostiles who, God knows, have 
suffered enough through the treachery of white men 


MISTAKEN IDEAS 5D 


to have been forgiven if they repaid a member of 
the white race in kind. 

But when at war, or when he meets an enemy, the 
Indian feels that it is up to the best man to win, by 
fair means or foul. Treachery, to his mind, is all 
part of the game, just as, for that matter, it is in 
so-called civilized warfare. Like the Chinaman, 
the Indian will try to get the best of a bargain, 
though not dishonestly. 

I have never found a truly primitive Indian who 
was a thief. I have dwelt for days, weeks, and 
months in Indian villages where the houses were 
open sheds and where all my belongings and trade 
goods, priceless and coveted beyond words by the 
Indians, were fully exposed and unprotected. Yet 
never have I had a single article stolen. 

Often the girls and children would take some ob- 
ject, and either wear it or carry it off to show to 
their friends, but invariably they brought the things 
back or brought other objects to trade for the arti- 
cles they had taken. So before we can accuse the 
Indians of cruelty or treachery we must consider 
what we really mean by such terms, and must take 
into consideration lifelong custom and point of 
view. 

Indian psychology varies as greatly as anything 
else. 

Indian music is not by any means always the bar- 
baric discord of tom-toms and rattles which we are 
prone to imagine. Many tribes possess a keen ear 
for harmony and key, and have excellent musical 
instruments. The drum or tom-tom may play an 


56 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


important part in their dance music, for there is no 
instrument better adapted for beating rhythm; 
but when in sentimental mood they will play their 
flutes, flageolets, Pan’s pipes, and other instruments 
in harmonious, plaintive melodies. The music of 
the Incan tribes is widely known and their tunes 
have been copied and embodied in composition by 
many Kuropean composers, and those who think 
that Indians are not musical should remember that 
the marimba is strictly an Indian instrument and is 
best played by Indians. | 

To sum up: in nearly every character, custom, 
habit, industry, and art; in costume and religion; 
in government and family life, even in language, 
the American Indian varies tremendously accord- 
ing to his tribe. What is true of one tribe may not 
apply to another inhabiting adjacent territory, and, 
in many ways, there are greater differences and 
distinctions between the America Indian races than 
between the races of Europe. 


CHAPTER IV 


WHAT WE OWE THE INDIAN AND HOW WE HAVE 
REPAID HIM 


EW people realize how much we owe the Indian 
or appreciate the highly important part he has 
played in our history. As a matter of fact we owe 
him everything—even our country, which was taken 
from him by chicanery, theft, force of arms, treach- 
ery, and murder. But aside from this, many of the 
world’s most useful, valuable, and essential prod- 
ucts and foods are due to the Indian. Maize, white 
potatoes, buckwheat, pumpkins, squashes, and 
many of the melons and other fruits; lima and 
string beans, peanuts, cacao, tapioca, tobacco, sisal 
and pita hemp; many spices, sarsaparilla, aloes, ipe- 
cacuanha, quinine, calisaya, arnica, cocaine, vanilla, 
annatto, divi-divi, logwood, chicle, _ gutta-percha, 
rubber, turkeys, llamas, alpaca, and vicuitia—these 
are only a few of the innumerable things which were 
unknown to the world prior to the discovery of 
America, but which had been known and used by 
the Indians for centuries, and had been cultivated 
or bred for so long that countless varieties had been 
developed. 
_ Nearly all of the early settlers and discoverers 


owed their lives, their success, and their wealth to 
57 


58 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


the Indians. The Puritans could never have sur- 
vived their first winter in Massachusetts had it not 
been for aid given by the friendly Indians. Colum- 
bus might never have found gold had it not been for 
the Indians’ help. Pizarro learned of the wealth 
of the Incas from Indian friends. The settlements 
of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and many other portions 
of America were made possible by the Indians. Had 
it not been for Indian friends who acted as guides, 
pilots, and hunters, the buccaneers could never have 
performed their marvelous deeds, the power of 
Spain would not have been broken, and we might 
now be living under the Spanish flag. In countless 
other ways the Indians aided the Europeans. 
How were they repaid? By friendship, rewards, 
recognition and gratitude? Not a bit of it. From 
the very first they were outrageously cheated, op- 
pressed, tortured, enslaved, robbed, and butchered. 
Indeed, the aim of the invading Caucasians seemed 
to be the entire extermination of the race which had 
done so much for them and whose country they had 
usurped. | 
When Columbus stepped ashore upon the Ba- 
hamas the peaceful natives welcomed the Spaniards 
with presents, hospitality, and entertainment, and 
regarded them as gods or supermen. Wherever the 
dons touched, the Arowaks and the others did every-_ 
thing possible for the white men and were hospitable 
and friendly. Only the Caribs were aloof. Those 
doughty warriors seemed to have had a premonition 
of what was to follow, and though at first they 
showed no hostility, they were not so openly friendly 


WHAT WE OWE THE INDIAN 09 


as their more peace-loving neighbors. How did 
Columbus and his men show their gratitude to the 
aborigines? By making captives of men and women 
whom they held as slaves and carried to Spain to 
exhibit like wild animals. By taking possession of 
Indian homes, raping the women, degrading the 
natives with liquor, introducing diseases, forcing 
them to toil in alien lands as slaves in mines and 
fields, hunting them down like wild beasts, slaughter- 
ing them right and left, and putting them to rack and 
torture to force them to become Christians or to 
divulge the location of gold and riches. The dons 
did not confine their murderous, brutal tactics to 
warfare or to hostile tribes. Often an Indian 
butchery was staged to make a holiday, and Indians 
were killed to supply meat for the Spaniards’ dogs. 
On one occasion, Columbus summoned hundreds of 
Indians to a feast in Santo Domingo, and when the 
Indians, who partly from fear of disobeying and 
partly through believing the Spaniards’ words, had 
gathered at the appointed spot, what happened? 
With the Indians surrounded, defenseless, and un- 
able to escape, the dons turned loose their gaunt, 
half-starved, savage hounds, and Columbus and 
his men watched and applauded as the brutes fell 
upon the shrieking, terrified men and women, and, 
tearing them to pieces, glutted themselves upon the 
reeking bodies. 

Within a dozen years from the landing of Colum- 
bus not an Indian was left alive in the Bahamas; 
within a score of years after the discovery of Santo 
Domingo every Indian had been enslaved, deported, 


60 - THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


or killed. And the same was true wherever the 
Spaniards went. To them, an Indian was no more 
than a wild beast. It mattered nothing whether the 
Indians were friendly or not. They were ruthlessly 
destroyed at every turn. For mere sport they tore 
Indians limb from limb, flayed them alive, lopped off 
hands, feet, ears, or noses, and gouged out eyes. 
They wantonly destroyed the culture and civilization 
of the Incas, the Mayas, and the Aztecs and they left 
a trail of blood and suffering wherever they went. 

We cannot gloss this over by claiming the Span- 

iards were noted for lust, cruelty, and treachery. 
The French, Dutch, and English did the same or 
worse, and the mistreatment of the Indians contin- 
ues to the present day. 
- Ido not know of a single authentic case where the 
Indians were the aggressors or struck the first blow, 
at least where the Indians met the whites for the 
first time. Very often the Indians were most pa- 
tient, forgiving, and long-suffering and endured 
every affront, every treachery, and every oppres- 
sion for years before they rose and strove, too late, 
to assert themselves and their rights. 

The Pilgrims, landing at Plymouth, were only too 
glad to accept the Indians’ help until they found 
themselves firmly established and self-supporting. 
Then they commenced robbing their former friends 
and killing them off if they protested: Treaties 
made in good faith were broken right and left. 

From Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, and south- 
ward to Tierra del Fuego, the white men taught the 
Indians that no treaty was sacred, no promise se- 


— 


WHAT WE OWE THE INDIAN 61 


cure, no friendship a protection, and that might 
meant right. When war broke out between French 
and British, or between Colonials and British, both 
sides hired Indian warriors to prey upon their fel- 
low Europeans and paid the Indians so much per 
scalp for men, women, and children of their fellow 
whites. 

The Indians were not slow to learn. Realizing 
that they might expect no consideration at the hands 
of the newcomers, convinced at last that the white 
man’s promise meant nothing and that the Indian 
had no rights, and reasoning that if white men 
fought one another and took scalps there was no 
reason why they should not fight the white men also, 
the Indians strove to assert themselves and check 
the palefaces’ advance. But their cause was hope- 
less from the first. Intertribal warfare and feuds 
always existed among the Indians, they could not 
form a lasting and unified force, and though they 
won many victories and destroyed many settlements 
the white men with superior arms always won in the 
end. Still the Indians kept on. They were bound 
to be killed or driven from homes anyway, and they 
might as well die fighting as be killed like dumb 
cattle. 

Quite naturally, when the newcomers from Eu- 
rope spread farther west, they found hostile tribes 
who, without hesitation, fell upon the strangers 
‘tooth and nail. To these tribesmen had come word 
of what to expect. Refugees from the east had - 
brought tidings of the white men’s ways. Couriers 
had reached them asking their aid, and, for years, 


62 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


the nomadic tribes of the west had been taught by 
bitter experience with the Spaniards from Mexico 
that the only good white man was a dead white man. 
In the far west, however, many tribes proved 
friendly and never raised a hand against the whites. 
But they received no more consideration for their 
attitude than if they had been the most implacable 
of hostiles. 

Even when the colonists declared their independ- 
ence and framed our constitution with its ‘‘all men 
free and equal,’’ did the newborn United States 
right the Indians’ wrongs, protect them, or consider 
them either free or equal? No. Our government 
drove them from their lands and homes, deported 
them, and forced them to live upon reservations in 
a new and alien territory. 

Even then they were not allowed to live in peace. 
If white men cast covetous eyes upon the In- 
dians’ lands the Indians were again herded together 
and driven like cattle to still more desolate, hope- 
less, and worthless lands. And when irrigation 
made these deserts possible of cultivation, when oil 
was discovered, the Indians were again the ones to 
‘‘move on.’’ If they protested against leaving the 
homes and farms they had established through in- 
dustry and toil they were harried, imprisoned, or 
shot as malcontents. 

When the peaceful Nez Perces, seeking only free- 
dom, attempted to leave the United States and find 
refuge in Canada they were chased by our cavalry, 
attacked, shot down, and forced as prisoners to re- 
turn to the reservation our government had seen fit 


WHAT WE OWE THE INDIAN 63 


to allot to them. And yet the Nez Perces, under 
Chief Joseph, had committed no hostile act. On 
their long march they had molested no whites, had 
destroyed no property, had not taken a scalp. 

From first to last, it has been considered no crime 
for a white man to rob or murder an Indian. Within 
the past few years many of the Osage tribe have 
been ruthlessly killed by whites in order to secure 
possession of the Indians’ oil lands. Not content 
with killing an Indian or an entire family one at a 
time, an Indian’s house was dynamited and the whole 
family destroyed while asleep. And up to the pres- 
ent no one has been convicted of these crimes, and 
the chances are no one ever will be. 

If our reservations had been honestly and fairly 
conducted and administered it would not have been 
so bad. But from the first, the Indian reservations 
have been national scandals. Graft, corruption, dis- 
honesty, selfishness, and mistreatment of the Indians 
have gone on unchecked, and, when too obvious, 
have been whitewashed. In addition, innumerable 
interfering individuals—reformists, blue-law advo- 
cates, sanctimonious busybodies, and plain every- 
day fools—have had their fingers in the Indian pie. 
The Indians’ age-old customs, ancestral beliefs, and 
sacred ceremonies have been censored, forbidden, 
and interfered with until the Indian cannot call his 
soul his own. 

No race in the world has ever been subjected to 
such oppressions, such treachery, such inconsidera- 
tion as the American Indian. It is little wonder 
that under such treatment he has become listless, 


64 THE AMERICAN INDIAN | 


hopeless, depraved, dishonest, and suspicious. Yet, 
despite all, the Indians, as a whole, have held their 
own, have retained their characteristics, their folk- 
lore and traditions, their dialects and customs. 

Many have become industrious, prosperous, hard- 
working farmers and cattlemen, and many have be- 
come millionaires. By some strange whim of fate 
our efforts to herd the Indians on the most worthless 
areas of our land have redounded to the Indians’ 
benefit as far as wealth is concerned. And many of 
the Indians have reached high attainments. Many 
are college graduates. Many have held high public 
offices, and many have shown that in intelligence, 
ability, and every other way the Indian is the a 
of the Caucasian. 

Despite the way in which they have been treated, 
although they might, with every reason, hate and 
detest the whites, yet when the time came and the 
United States was drawn into the great European 
war, the Indians responded nobly to the eall to arms. 
No fighters in all the armies of the world showed 
greater courage, greater endurance, or greater pa- 
triotism. At the close of the éoniiate they returned, 
wounded, maimed, perhaps bearing sds and or- 
ders won by Hence deeds on the battlefields of 
France, to again become reservation Indians, to be 
forgotten by the government they had served, to be 
fleeced, coerced, and at the whim or covetousness of 
the whites, to be driven from pillar to post as before. 

The lot of the South American Indian has been 
hardly better. Judging by the early history of Span- 
ish America one might reasonably think it would 


WHAT WE OWE THE INDIAN 65 


have been far worse. But during their wars of in- 
dependence the Latin Americans found the Indians 
most useful allies, and, moreover, the Spanish race 
mingled and mixed freely with the aborigines. As 
a result, most of the inhabitants of Latin America, 
most of its most wealthy and prominent men, have 
more or less Indian blood in their veins, and the 
Indian, through consanguinity, holds a better posi- 
tion in Latin America than in the United States. 

Many of the Central and South American tribes 
have never been conquered or brought under sub- 
jection. Many of these, though still maintaining their 
racial and tribal independence, are friendly and 
peaceful, while others are and always have been hos- 
tile, and still others, though not openly hostile, allow 
no white men in their territory and zealously protect 
their lands from white encroachment. Though the 
old Dons had an easy conquest in many places, 
though they did their level best—or worst—to de- 
stroy all the Indians, yet they found, before they got 
through, that the dense jungles of tropical America, 
the inaccessible mountains, and fever-ridden equa- 
torial swamps were all allies of the Indians and that 
trying to conquer or destroy the natives was a hope- 
less task not worth the cost in human lives and 
riches. Hence, in South America, we find innumer- 
able tribes and countless thousands of Indians still 
living their primitive lives unmolested and in no im- 
mediate danger of suffering at the hands of the so- 
ealled ‘‘ superior’ ? race. 

Moreover, in many South American countries the 
Indians far outnumber the whites or mixed races. 


66 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


In Bolivia fully 90 per cent of the population is In- 
dian; in Peru the only labor is Indian; and in either 
of these republics, should the Indian strike en masse, 
not a wheel would turn, not an industry continue, for, 
from street-sweepers and house servants to expert 
artisans, every worker is an Indian. 

Nevertheless, the South American Indian has 
abundant cause for complaint. As in North Amer- 
ica, treaties and promises have been broken, the right 
of citizenship, supposedly granted, is in reality de- 
nied. The pure-blooded Indian has no chance when 
it comes to a question of white or red. He is miser- 
ably fed, miserably housed, paid a mere pittance for 
his labor. He is exploited by any one and every one, 
is abused, kicked about, regarded with contempt. 
Nothing he has is sacred from any white man or 
mestizo who comes along. In Peru, for example, any 
passing traveler who wishes to do so may throw the 
Indian from his home, take possession of the house 
and contents, together with the Indian’s wife and 
daughters, and kick and beat the Indian and his 
family into submission. 

Though in Peru the bulk of the Indians are 
Quichuas, quiet, retiring, subservient beings who, 
ground into mere cogs in a wheel under the Incas, 
enslaved and debased by the Spaniards, do not dare 
to call their souls their own, in Chile we find the In- 
dians are far better off and of quite a different type. 
Here, in southern Chile, are the Araucanians, so- 
called, powerful, proud, independent, intelligent, in- 
dustrious, prosperous, and numbering many thou- 
sands. Never have they been conquered, never have 


WHAT WE OWE THE INDIAN 67 


they bowed themselves under the yoke of an alien 
race. Although living on good terms with the whites 
and at peace with all the world, yet they know their 
rights and stand up for them. Many of their men are 
graduates of great universities in Europe and Amer- 
ica, but all retain their tribal pride, customs, and 
life. 

It would be a sad day for Chile if her government 
attempted to mistreat or coerce these tribesmen. A 
few years ago, while in southern Chile and among 
the Mapuches, I witnessed a demonstration of the 
Indians’ method of dealing with the Chileans. For 
a long time the whites had been, little by little, en- 
croaching on the Mapuches’ rights. It culminated in 
the Chilean police’s arresting some Indians for an 
alleged crime against another Indian, a matter, 
which, under the treaties, should have been left en- 
tirely to the caciques and tribal justice. 

Dressed in all their old-time regalia, mounted on 
their tough, fleet horses, bearing their twenty-foot 
lances, their bolas, and their clubs, the tribesmen, to- 
gether with their families, gathered in a huge coun- 
cil with all the old-time ceremonies. Among the 
chiefs and leading men were college graduates, and 
at the close of the council, a petition stating their 
complaints and demanding redress from the govern- 
ment was signed by 18,000 Indians. No threat was 
made and none was needed; but a grim hint was in- 
cluded in the document by the statement that if ne- 
cessity arose 250,000 fighting men could be put in 
the field! Very promptly the Chilean government 
replied, and within twenty-four hours a note was on 


68 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 
its way to the Mapuches, acknowledging the justice 
of the complaints and keane: to accede to the In- 


dians’ demands. 
In other portions of South Auntie the fate of the 


Indian has been as pitiable as in North America. 


He has been exploited, forced to labor like a slave, 
treated like a dog, and unspeakably abused. In the 
rubber districts of the upper Amazon and Putamayo, 
British companies committed atrocities as revolting 
and inhuman as it is possible to conceive. If an In- 
dian failed to produce his or her allotted quantity of 
rubber, hands, ears or other portions of the Indians’ 
anatomy were chopped off. When at last exposure 
came the world stood aghast. 


Though the South American tribes have been long- 


suffering, though in the past they have been sub- 
jected to every brutality and inhumanity, they are 
at last asserting themselves and intend to enforce 
their rights. Led by a lineal descendant of the Incas, 
by a man who is a college graduate and a brilliant 
lawyer and who has served as a colonel in his goy- 


ernment’s army, the Indians have secretly and 


quietly formed a tremendous confederation which in- 
cludes practically every South American tribe and 
whose numbers (so the leader informed me in a letter 
I now have before me) total twenty millions. 


With this tremendous power and extent the con- 


federation hopes to force the various governments 
to fulfill their obligations to the Indians, to keep to 
their treaties and right the existing wrongs—‘‘by 
peaceful means if possible,’’ to quote from the letter, 
‘‘but by force of arms if necessary.’? Undoubtedly, 


WHAT WE OWE THE INDIAN 69 


if the confederated tribes will hold together, the 
object may be accomplished; but the greatest failure 
of the Indian, the one paramount cause which has 
prevented the aborigines from maintaining their 
rights and their status, is the centuries-old enmity 
between tribes, and when it comes to the pinch, I 
greatly fear that intertribal feuds and jealousies will 
utterly destroy the power of this Indian confedera- 
tion. | 
Now let us turn to a brighter side of the white- 
Indian question. In British Guiana no conflict or 
friction between Europeans and Indians has ever 
occurred. From the times of Sir Walter Raleigh 
until to-day the whites and the Indians of Guiana 
have ever been on the friendliest of terms. There 
have been no oppression, no mistreatment, no viola- 
tion of treaties on the parts of the Europeans, either 
Dutch or British. 

This is not because the Guiana Indians are any 
more peaceful, friendly, timid or submissive than 
other tribes. On the contrary, the Carib races, which 
predominate, have ever been noted for their warlike 
tendencies, their prowess, their courage, and their 
cannibal propensities. And it is not because the In- 
dians are in the minority or are easily reached. Fully 
half a hundred tribes inhabit Guiana, they are 
inaccessibly hidden in dense jungles and high moun- 
tains, and they far outnumber and always have out- 
numbered Huropeans. Moreover, with few excep- 
tions, they possess and use the most deadly and silent 
of weapons, the terrible blowgun with its wurali- 
poisoned darts which kill almost instantly and with 


70 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


which enemies may be picked off by unseen, unsus- 
pected Indians concealed in the jungles or the trees. 

Why then, we may well ask, have the Caucasians 
and the Indians lived so amicably in Guiana? 
Merely because the policy of the original Dutch set- 
tlers was to form and retain friendly relations with 
the aborigines. Because they realized that they 
could not hope to retain their settlements and de- 
velop the land if the country was full of hostile 
tribesmen. Because the British, who acquired the 
land from the Dutch, agreed to fulfill the Dutch 
treaties, and because the British have kept faith with 
the Indians. It stands, I believe, as the only coun- 
try where such conditions have existed, unique 
among all the lands of the New World as a spot 
where Europeans and Indians have never been at 
war and where, with a few isolated exceptions due to 
irresponsible individuals, no mistreatment of the In- 
dians has ever occurred. 

In its paternal and just attitude towards its In- 
dian wards the Guiana government should set us a 
worth-while example. Instead of driving the Indians 
from their homes and herding them on reservations, 
the Guiana government allots the Indians’ lands to 
them in perpetuity. An official, known as the ‘‘Pro- 
tector of Indians,’’ together with his assistants, has 
nothing to do but attend to the Indians’ interests and 
actually ‘‘protect’’ them. A heavy penalty is im- 
posed on any one caught selling or giving liquor to 
an Indian. No one can employ an Indian without 
the Protector’s permission, and even when he has 
satisfied the official that he is a fit person to employ 


WHAT WE OWE THE INDIAN 71 


an Indian he must file a bond to protect the Indian 
against loss of wages or mistreatment. No inter- 
ference with Indian customs, rites, ceremonies, or 
life is permitted as long as such things do not inter- 
fere with or molest the white inhabitants. No one 


- is allowed to seize, use, or exploit Indian lands. No 


one is permitted to barter or trade with the Indians 
without permission, and the prices of forest prod- 
ucts, the wages of Indians, the rations they must be 
given when employed are all fixed by law and are 
enforced. 

Moreover, an Indian has the right to free passage 
on any public conveyance, such as steamboats or 
railways, in the colony. He can cut timber, culti- 
vate the ground, gather rubber or gums, hunt, fish, 
or live wherever and whenever he chooses. He is 
free from all taxes, royalties, dues, and does not 
even have to pay a license for a gun as do all other 
inhabitants of the country. 

In short, the Indian is considered first in every- 
thing. The government takes the attitude that the 
Indian is the true owner of the land, that his free- 
dom and his rights to his country’s products and 
resources are unalienable, and that it is the Indian 
and not the white or black man who needs protec- 
tion and should be shown every possible considera-~ 
tion and favor. 

To find such conditions existing, to find such a 
clean page among the many dark and blood-stained 
pages of the Indian’s story, is a relief and a delight. 
And it goes far to prove that all the warfare, the 
agonies, the cruelties, and atrocities which have 


72 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


formed a disgraceful blot on American history might 
have been easily avoided. It proves that even where 
there were savage, cannibal, and warlike tribes, the 
Indians were ready and willing to be friendly with 
the Kuropeans; that they were ready and willing to 
retain that friendship; that they could and would 
abide by their treaties and promises; and that had 
the white men not been the first to cause trouble, 
had they not been the aggressors, most if not all of 
our long, bloody, and costly Indian wars might have 
been avoided. 


CHAPTER V, 
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS‘ 


HEN we think of an Indian’s religion we 
usually think of the Great Spirit and happy 
- hunting grounds. While certain Indian tribes, no- 
tably those of our eastern states, believed in a 
supreme being and an Indian paradise which from 
their point of view could best be described as a 
happy hunting ground, yet these beliefs were by no 
means universal and were not typical of all Indian 
religions. . 

Many tribes, both in North and South America, 
believed in numerous gods or deities with innumer- 
able lesser good spirits and devils or evil spirits. 
Others worshiped living or dead human beings whom 
they regarded as gods or saviors. Others worshiped 
the sun and other planets. Still others looked upon 
certain mountains, rivers, lakes, or trees as the 
sacred abiding places of their gods and worshiped 
them as such. And some tribes had no conception 
of true deities or a true religion. 

In the same way the Indians’ ideas of a hereafter 
or a future life varied tremendously with the various 
tribes. Some believed in the happy-hunting-ground 
idea. Others thought that the spirits of the dead 
roamed the earth and helped the relatives and 


friends of their living days. Others believed in re- 
73 


74 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


incarnation. Still others thought human spirits en- 
tered animals, and hence held certain creatures 
sacred. Others looked upon various inanimate ob- 
jects as the abodes of human souls, and some had 
no conception of an after life. 

So varied, so innumerable are the various reli- 
gious beliefs of the Indians that an entire volume 
might be written on this one subject, and it would be 
impossible even to mention them all in a book of the 
present size and scope. But certain religious be- 
hiefs and convictions, which are typical, will be of 
interest and will serve to illustrate the fact that the 
Great Spirit and happy hunting grounds are not the 
fundamental tenets of American Indian religions. 

As a rule, the Indian believes in one all powerful 
or supreme and wholly kindly and beneficent deity 
or spirit. Often he is thought to reside in the sky, 
the sun, or in some lofty and inaccessible mountain 
or some mysterious lake. Often, too, he is believed 
to possess a wife and family, and, among several 
Central American tribes, the sun is regarded as the 
chief deity’s home, the moon as the wife’s home, and 
the stars and the planets as the homes of the deities’ 
progeny. 

These Indians point out that the planets ‘‘move,’? 
and argue that in that way the god and goddess 
watch over all races. During the day the moon and 
stars come to earth and wander about among the 
_ people, while the sun descends to earth during the 
night. As they can actually see the sun rise from 
the earth in the morning and descend at night, and 
the moon reverse the process, they have very good 


RELIGIOUS BELIEFS 75 


reasons for their belief. But, as is so often the case, 
they do not seem to have a very clear idea as to the 
distinction between their god and goddess’s abodes 
and the deities themselves. I have often heard the 
medicine men discussing this and trying to explain 
the distinctions. 

One very old medicine chief assured me that the 
sun and moon always remained in the heavens but 
were only luminous when tenanted by the spirits. 
Also, he called my attention to the fact that whereas 
the sun was never in the sky at night the moon was 
often visible during the day. This, he explained, 
was because the sun’s wife must be with her lord 
sometimes, and he assured me that the bright star 
seen close to the moon was a new god who had just 
been born of the celestial union. The old fellow 
could not be stumped on any question. When asked 
why the moon was sometimes full, sometimes a half 
moon, and sometimes a crescent, and how he ac- 
counted for solar and lunar eclipses, he was ready 
with the answers. Women, he said, were always shy 
and that when approaching her master during the 
day the moon coquettishly turned her face away. 
The half moon, he declared, was when the moon god- 
dess was sleeping, while eclipses were when the god 
and goddess hid their faces to remind the Indians of 
the terrible darkness which would result should their 
god and goddess be displeased and desert them. 

To other tribes, the sun, moon, and stars are the 
spirits of men and gods who once dwelt upon the 
earth. Some Guiana tribes have a legend of a ter- 
rific battle which took place on earth between Tumin- 


76 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


kor, the Indian god, and a powerful evil spirit. 
During the battle the god was killed but his spirit 
pursued the evil one to the sky and still remains 
there, in the form of Orion, chasing his enemy and 
firing arrows which are visible as shooting stars. 

On the other hand, some tribes, as the Tegualas of 
Panama, believe that the chief deity inhabits the 
rivers. Undoubtedly in all cases where the Indians 
believe the sun, the mountains, or the rivers to be 
the abode of their greatest benevolent spirit, such a 
belief has come about through the importance of 
sunshine, rain, or water, which are necessities of life. 
And where we find so-called fire-worshipers, who do 
not actually worship the fire but hold it sacred as 
the abode of some powerful deity, we may be quite 
sure that it is because fire is one of man’s essentials. 
Moreover, there is a close connection between fire 
and the sun. Both give heat and light, and, very 
often, Indians regard both as sacred and the abode 
of spirits, and combine sun and fire worship. 

In much the same way, mountains and rivers are 
closely.dinked. In many places the mountains are 
ever surrounded with vapor and drenched with rain, 
which, running down, forms the rivers, and hence 
many tribes hold both sacred. The tribes of the in- — 
terior of Guiana regard Mount Roraima as a sacred 
spot and the abode of the god of rains, and, in their 
own dialects, call the mountain ‘‘The Mother of 
Water.”’ 

Still other tribes who depend upon the sea for 
their livelihood feel just as certain that their deity 
dwells in the sea for, in nearly every case, man, 


RELIGIOUS BELIEFS V7 


whether primitive or civilized, conceives his gods as 
the beings to whom he owes the most and imagines 
their abiding place as the spot whence come man’s 
most important benefits. EHven our own ideas of God 
and a celestial heaven were originally derived from 
such a course of reasoning, for, from the sky above 
comes the life-giving rain and sunshine sent down to 
man by a beneficent deity who must therefore abide 
in the heavens. 

In their beliefs in a hereafter the Indians vary as 
widely as in their ideas of gods and spirits. A tribe 
which depends upon the chase would naturally pic- 
ture an Indian heaven as a spot abounding with 
game or a happy hunting ground, whereas an agri- 
cultural tribe might believe in a heaven of abundant 
crops, and a fishing tribe would think that paradise 
would be a spot where there were unlimited fish. 
And just as some Christians believe in the literal 
heaven and hell, some in reincarnation, and still 
others in other conditions of an after life, so the 
American Indians have innumerable conceptions of 
the fate of the human spirit after death. In the 
majority of cases, no matter what the belief in the 
future of the soul may be, the Indians are spiritual- 
ists and are convinced that the wraiths of the dead 
visit the earth and their old friends and tribesmen 
and, under certain conditions, communicate with the 
living. 

As a rule, Indians regard the spirits of the dead 
as being far more material than are our conceptions 
of them. Like the old Egyptians, the Indians believe 
that the soul released from the body will feel lost 


78 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


and will actually suffer if not provided with the sus- 
tenance, the utensils, the clothing, and all the other 
appurtenances of life. Hence, with few exceptions, 
the dead Indian when buried, cremated, or other- 
wise disposed of, is surrounded with his weapons, 
ornaments, garments, and utensils, together with 
food and drink. In the case of some tribes these are 
the genuine objects which actually belonged to and 
were used by the deceased. But in other cases 
miniature replicas of the real objects are used for 
burial purposes, just as the Egyptians interred 
models of vessels, houses, cattle, and other objects 
with their dead. Often the utensils accompanying 
the body were broken or ‘‘killed’’ in order to pre- 
vent evil spirits from taking possession of them, and 
also as a form of sacrifice. In still other cases the 
dead were buried with their own possessions intact, 
and other objects—pottery, weapons, stone tools and 
artifacts, together with specially made ceremonial 
dishes—were ‘‘killed’’ or sacrificed upon the grave. 

The forms of burial were as widely diverse as the 
forms and tenets of religion or the beliefs in a here- 
after. Some tribes interred their dead in the earth. 
Others placed them on platforms raised above the 
earth or in trees. Others placed them in burial 
caves, others in mounds. Some tribes built elaborate 
tombs. Others interred the bodies in the houses of 
the deceased. Some destroyed body and house to- 
gether by burning them. And some buried their 
dead in their tribal refuse heaps. 

Among many tribes secondary burials or disposal 
of the bodies was customary. In some cases the 


RELIGIOUS BELIEFS 79 


body was cremated and the ashes either scattered to 
the winds, cast into a river or the sea, or carefully 
interred in a pot. Other tribes buried the body and 
later disinterred it, cleaned the bones, and either 
preserved these or reinterred them. In the case of 
one Brazilian tribe, the body was buried and a few 
days later was dug up and the flesh devoured by 
relatives and friends after which the bones were 
placed in an urn and buried with great ceremony. 

A common custom was to boil the body and bury 
the cleansed skeleton. Other tribes placed the body 
in a huge urn and set this in a shallow grave lined 
with clay. A roaring fire was then built about the 
urn, thus cremating the body and baking the walls of 
the grave to form a rude tomb. As the fire burned, 
the people wailed, danced, and made sacrifices, 
throwing their most valued possessions into the 
flames until the fire was extinguished and the grave 
filled by the broken pottery, the stone implements, 
the carved images, and the ornaments and utensils 
sacrificed by the tribesmen. 

Funeral ceremonies and expressions of mourning 
also vary greatly. Among some tribes the widow’s 
hair is cut; she wails and laments and fasts and of- 
fers prayers. Among other tribes mourners are 
numerous and make day and night hideous with their 
lamentations. Other tribes think that the dead In- 
dian is better off, and consider a death a cause for 
merrymaking and celebrate it with dances, feasts, 
and music. Some tribes seek to ease the departing 
spirit on its way by playing barbaric and plaintive 
music on reed flutes and pipes, while others wail and 


80. THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


weep and scream while a person is dying. Perhaps 
in both cases, the noise is intended to frighten off 


evil spirits rather than anything else, and most cer- 


tainly it would require a most persistent devil to 
withstand the noises issuing from the death cham- 
ber where these practices are in vogue. | 

Many Indians, too, believe that ill Inck and miafoxs 
tune will follow if thie! continue to reside in a village 
where a person has died and, after the body is 
buried, the village and its fields are deserted for- 
ever. But there are just as many tribes who con- 
tinue to live in the village or even the house where a 
death has occurred and the deceased has been buried. 

Among the Caribs a sort of combination of these 
two extremes is the custom. When a member of the 
tribe dies, the body is interred either in the house 
of the deceased or in a grave near by. The village is 
then deserted for a period of a month after which 
the inhabitants return, hold a grand celebration with 
dances, paiwarrie drinking, and ceremonials. The 
following day they leave the village forever. The 
Caribs believe that for the first month the spirit wan- 
ders about the neighborhood of the grave and that 
many evil spirits are also abroad and hence it is not 
wise to remain near the spot. But at the termina- 
tion of this period they believe it necessary to re- 
turn and hold a feast in order to drive off any linger- 
ing devils and to let the spirit of their dead tribesmen 
know that they have not forgotten him. After that 
they think the fields and village should be left for 
the use of the spirit. 


; 


RELIGIOUS BELIEFS 81 


Indians, as a rule, do not regard death as a great 
ealamity or sorrow, and it is largely owing to this 
attitude that Indians do not fear death in battles, or 
other dangerous undertakings. Among many tribes 
there is no sorrow shown, even the wife or wives of 
a dead man or the husband of a dead woman, as well 
as the children, exhibiting no signs of grief, but 
going about their accustomed work as usual. 

On the other hand, the sacrifice of a man’s wife or 
wives was often customary, as the Indians believed 
his spirit would need theirs to accompany him in 
after life. I do not know of any tribe where it was 
customary to sacrifice a man if his mate died, but 
possibly the Indians felt that there was a scarcity of 
females in the Indian paradise and that a spiritual 
husband could be easily found. 

Ceremonies in memory of the dead differ greatly 
among the tribes both in North and South America. 
Many tribes have no idea of mourning as we know it, 
and bury all memories of the deceased with his body, 
while other tribes show their mourning in various 
ways and sometimes keep it up for years. Often it 
is customary for friends and relatives frequently to 
place fresh food, drink, and other necessities upon 
or near the grave in order that the spirit may not 
want. This is sometimes done for months or even 
years after the death. 

There are also tribes who keep alive the memory 
of the departed in rather gruesome ways. Some- 
times the hair of the corpse is shorn off and pre- 
served, and is fashioned into ornaments which are 
worn at ceremonials. Bones, hands, and even heads 


82 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


are preserved by several tribes. Some Central 
American tribes have a most curious custom of keep-. 
ing memory fresh and also giving publicity to the 
state of the widow. This consists of cleaning the 
bones of the dead man and suspending them in a net 
or basket beside the entrance to the widow’s home 
where they must remain and must be carefully cared 
for by the widow until the allotted period of mourn- 
ing has passed. Then she buries them for good and 
all and is eligible for a second marriage. 

Although mummies of various tribes are well- 
known yet, as far as I am aware, no American In- 
dian tribe ever prepared or mummified the dead 
purposely. In cases where the bodies were placed 
in dry burial caves, especially in districts where 
humidity and rain are almost unknown, the bodies 
dried and in time became mummylike. In Peru and 
other portions of the west coast of South America 
the bodies interred in the dry sand which usually 
contains some nitrates and where it never rains were 
often almost perfectly preserved by chemical action 
of the salts and desiccation. 

The Incan and pre-Incan tribes wrapped or bound 
the bodies of the dead in cloth, cotton, etc., so that 
they more nearly resemble true mummies than other 
dried bodies. When first disinterred and un- 
wrapped, these Incan mummies have much the ap- 
pearance of recently buried corpses. The hair is 
intact, the skin is a quite natural yellowish brown, 
and even the tattooing on faces and limbs is clear. 
But upon exposure to the air and the elements, the 
skin, dried flesh, and hair soon go to pieces and leave 


a 


RELIGIOUS BELIEFS 83 


only the skeleton. When excavating the graves 
containing these ancient mummies it is difficult to 
believe that they are hundreds, perhaps thousands, 
of years old, and the same is true of the dried or 
mummified bodies, some of which are startlingly life- 
like, which are found in our western caves and cliff 
dwellings. | 

In many ways, Indian religions and burial cus- 
toms are almost inextricably mixed with supersti- 
tions, which is not surprising, for even the most 
civilized people, of all races and creeds, have much 
of a purely superstitious character included in their 
religions and burial customs. Indeed, our own Chris- 
tian religion contains no little superstition, while 
many if not most of our marriage and funeral cus- 
toms are based on superstition, even if we do not 
realize it. 

Thus it has often been said that Indians worship 
idols and we frequently hear and use the term “‘idol?’ 
when referring to the carved, painted, or sculptured 
images which are almost universal among the 
American Indian tribes. But as a matter of fact, 
and literally speaking, I do not know of a single 
Indian tribe which is truly idolatrous. As a rule, 
the so-called idols of the Indians are merely sym- 
bolic and are designed to represent deities or spirits 
in concrete form. Some of the Indians believe that 
deities and friendly spirits are invisible but are 
capable of entering and taking possession of their 
material likenesses, and hence, by making images of 
the spirits as they are imagined, the Indians regard 
the ‘‘idols’’ as sacred and tenanted by the deities. 


84 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


But it is the spirit within and not the handiwork of 
man that is worshiped. 

In other cases the image is merely a visible re- 
minder or material representation of a god or spirit, 
and offerings and prayers bestowed upon it are 
made to the spirit and not to the image. In fact, 
they occupy the same place in the Indians’ religion 
as do crosses, sacred pictures, and images of Christ 
and the saints in the Christian religion. It is just 
as erroneous to speak of Indians’ worshiping their 
effigies as it would be to speak of Christians’ wor- 
shiping the cross or a statue or picture of Jesus. 

In a great many instances, also, the effigies used 
by the Indians are either fetishes or proxies and 
have no part in their religion. A proxy is a most 
useful object in many cases, and, among some tribes, 
such for example as the “San Blas’? tribes uF 
Panama, the use of such wooden or terra-cotta 
images is almost universal. A medicine man, after 
attending to a sick tribesman to the best of his 
knowledge and ability, will, upon leaving, place a 
little wooden figure in the patient’s hammock or 
near him. This figure thereby takes the doctor’s 
place and keeps watch over the sick person and by 
its presence prevents the approach of evil spirits 
which might otherwise enter the patient’s body. If 
the sick person does not improve, the medicine man 
will leave another proxy, and often, in cases of seri- 
ous illness, an Indian will be seen surrounded by 
several dozens of these little proxies. 

So, too, if a family is going on a journey and leay- 
ing the house vacant, or if for any reason visitors 


| 
3 
| 
{ 


RELIGIOUS BELIEFS 85 


are not desired, a roughly carved human. figure is 
placed at the entrance to the house or on the path 
leading to it. This figure represents the owner and 
is supposed to keep off trespassers, for the Indian 
believes that any effigy or picture is possessed by 
the spirit of the person or animal it represents. 
Thus an Indian who leaves a proxy to guard his 
home feels convinced that, should any one enter, he 
will be aware of the fact through that portion of hig 
spirit within the proxy. 

Very often such wooden images are seen in fields, 
gardens and granaries where they are supposed to 
act as proxies in guarding the crops from predatory 
animals and birds. In many houses, similar images 
may be seen fastened to rafters or posts. These are 
often mistaken for ‘‘gods’’ or idols by persons un- 
familiar with the Indians’ beliefs, but, as a matter 
of fact, they are merely proxies for good spirits. 

None of these proxy images are ever worshiped 
and they are not looked upon as sacred. Should a 
proxy prove inefficient, should a trespasser or a thief 
disregard the proxy, the Indian does not hesitate to 
chop the image to bits or mutilate it and replace it 
with another. 

Once, when among the Kuna Indians of Darien, I 
witnessed a most striking example of this. A very 
large and fine wooden image was on guard in the vil- 
lage granary. I was very anxious to add the effigy 
to my collections but realized that it was quite out of 
the question. As I climbed up beside the image I 
discovered that a woodpecker had made its nest in 
the back of the figure’s head. When I called the 


86 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


Indians’ attention to this, the effigy was instantly 
pulled down, its nose chopped off, and a new image 
erected to take its place, for quite naturally the 
Kunas felt that a granary guard who would permit 
a thieving woodpecker to nest in his head was most 
inefficient. However, the fate of the unfortunate 
proxy was most fortunate for me, and the discarded 
image, together with his severed nose, was promptly 
added to my collection. 

This custom of using proxies is common to many 
tribes in all parts of America, but it appears to have 
reached its highest development in Central America 
where, among the Guaymis, it is carried to extremes 
and forms one of the most remarkable and, interest- 
ing features of their religious or sacred ceremonials. 
When a ceremonial is to be held, numbers of small 
terra-cotta figures are prepared. ‘These include 
human likenesses, birds, animals, insects, and other 
creatures, as well as representations of ‘the various 
deities and good spirits as the Indians imagine 
them. According to the Guaymis’ belief, the spirits 
of the various beings and creatures, who cannot of 
course be present in bodily form, will enter the 
miniature likenesses, while the spirits of Indians 
who, through illness or other causes, cannot take 
part in the ceremony, will take possession of the 
human figures made to represent the absentees. 

These images are placed in the ceremonial house 
and are surrounded by miniature utensils and 
dishes, and, during the ceremonial, they are re- 
garded with the same respect and honor as if their 
living counterparts were present in the flesh. To- 


RELIGIOUS BELIEFS 87 


wards the close of the ceremony the Indians dance 
about the little figures and from time to time an 
Indian will shout the name of some person, bird, 
animal, or deity represented by the effigies. Then, 
seizing a handful of the food spread upon the altar 
table, he will swallow a portion himself and toss the 
remainder into the ceremonial fire. As he does so 
the dance chief or master of ceremonies will seize 
the image whose name has been called, and, breaking 
it and its accompanying utensils to bits, will throw 
the fragments into the flames. 

This continues until the last image has been de- 
stroyed. The idea is that in this manner the spirits 
occupying the figures will be released and permitted 
to return to their proper and everyday form, while 
by breaking and burning the images evil spirits are 
prevented from taking possession of them and thus 
finding their way to the persons or animals the effi- 
gies represent. Here, therefore, we find a compli- 
eated and elaborate system of proxies partially com- 
bined with religion. Not only do the clay figures 
serve as proxies for living beings and deities but, in 
return, the Indians act as proxies for the proxies by 
partaking of the sacred feast and naming them- 
selves, temporarily, after the images. 

_ Aside from all these various kinds of images, 
which are so often referred to as idols, there are also 
fetish or charm figures, These vary in character 
and material with different tribes. They may be 
natural formations, such as stones, knots or branches 
of wood, bones, or other objects which, to the In- 
dian’s imagination, resemble certain animals or hu- 


88 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


man beings. They may be of cloth, skin, or other 
material and doll-like in appearance. They may be 
elaborately carved, decorated, beaded, or painted. 
They may be worn upon the person, used like orna- 
ments, or carefully concealed. Although such 
fetishes are usually in the form of a human being or 
some animal or bird, they may be so conventional- 
ized as to be almost unrecognizable. But, in every 
case, they are merely charms and have no religious 
or sacred significance. In fact they are the Indians’ 
counterparts of the rabbit’s foot, the lucky coin, or 
the lucky bean carried with more or less faith, by 
civilized men, and are supposed to bring good luck, 
good fortune, or success to the owner or to — 
him from harm or evil. 

But whether the Indian uses a charm, a proxy, or 
the handmade representation of his deity, it is al- 
ways obvious that he gives his spirits little credit 
for intelligence and thinks it an easy matter to hood- 
wink them. Many of his images are woefully crude, 
and how he expects to fool a spirit into thinking 
them worthy abodes or how any self-respecting 
spirit could recognize them for what they were in- 
tended, is a mystery. Like most primitive and many 
civilized persons, the Indian, as a rule, aims to pla- 
cate and propitiate the evil spirits and does not 
bother much with the good spirits. His attitude is 


that the good spirit cannot and will not harm him, 


whereas the evil spirit is forever watching out for 
an opportunity to wreak some mischief. Hence, he 
argues that he must constantly mollify the evil 
spirits, and he makes promises and offerings to 


Te ee ee a 


RELIGIOUS BELIEFS 89 


them. But he regards them, despite their evil 
powers, as very stupid and is always trying to fool 
them by using fetishes, proxies, etc., which he thinks 
they will mistake for the beings or spirits they rep- 
resent, by making offerings of artificial or worthless 
objects, and by making promises which he has no 
intention of fulfilling. 

Regardless of the particular form of his religion 
or beliefs, the Indian, before he has been Christian- 
ized, civilized, or brought into contact with the white 
race, is, in most cases, a clean living, truthful, and, 
according to his code, an honest and moral being. 
But as soon as he comes in touch with our civiliza- 
tion, as soon as his ancient beliefs are shaken by the 
teachings of Christianity, the Indian, with few ex- 
ceptions, becomes a rather shiftless, dirty, worthless 
fellow. He dons all the white man’s vices and few if 
any of his virtues when he dons the white man’s 
shirt or trousers. As a learned and observant mis- 
sionary once confessed to me, ‘‘You cannot Chris- 
tianize an Indian without civilizing him, and you can- 
not civilize him without ruining him.’’ 

We cannot blame the Indian. The white men he 
first meets are, as a rule, of the roughest, most blas- 
phemous and ungodly sort. They are lumbermen, 
miners, prospectors, or outlaws who possess every 
vice and are proud of it. Quite naturally the Indian 
copies their ways, and, being untrammeled by con- 
ventions which to a certain extent control even the 
worst of civilized men, he goes his teachers one 
better. 


Of course there are exceptions. Individuals 


90 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


among the Indians choose the virtues rather ‘than 
the vices of the white race for examples, and prove 
themselves equal in every way to Caucasians. Some 
tribes, moreover, have been Christianized and civi- 
lized for so long that, outwardly, they have com- 
pletely lost their racial beliefs and religions and are 
as law-abiding, progressive, and industrious as any 
white community. 

But I have yet to meet the Indian who, in his heart 
and beneath the surface, is not thoroughly Indian. 
To my mind, this is a most worthy characteristic, 
for why should the Indian not be as proud of his 
race, as firm in his beliefs, as fond of his ancient 
tribal customs as the white man is of his? When all 
is said and done, the untamed, uncontaminated, 
primitive Indian is, fundamentally, a better Chris- 
tian than most of those who would force our religion 
upon him. 

All too often, the Indian, like other men and 
women, accepts or pretends to accept Christianity 
and civilization for what he can get out of it. Cen- 
turies of oppression, of persecution, of slavery, tor- 
ture, and death at the hands of ‘‘Christians’’ has 
taught him that it is safer and easier to adopt the 
white man’s beliefs and customs than to resist them. 
And he has discovered also that, as a Christian and 
a civilized man, certain privileges and benefits come 
his way. Finally, too, he begins to have some doubt 
in regard to the relative merits of his own and the 
white men’s religions. And so, partly to be on the 
safe side, partly to appease the palefaces, and partly 
to reap any benefits that may result, he adopts Chris- 


RELIGIOUS BELIEFS 91 


tianity and civilization although still adhering, 
strictly in private and among his fellows, to his an- 
cestral gods and customs. In many a church where 
Indians attend Christian services, a little stone or 
wooden image is carefully concealed from prying 
eyes, and, in some parts of Bolivia and other South 
American countries where the Indian population 
predominates, the Indians openly carry their gods’ 
proxies into the churches and carry them out again 
at the close of the services. Even the Christian 
priests are compelled to wink at this custom, for 
without their effigies the Indians would not enter the 
ehurch, and the priests argue that it is better that 
the Indians should take part in the Christian service 
with a heathen image before them than not at all. 


CHAPTER VI 
SUPERSTITIONS AND LEGENDS 


N addition to their true religious beliefs, the 
American Indian tribes possess innumerable 
superstitions and beliefs which, though not exactly 
sacred, are so inextricably interwoven with their 
religions that it is almost impossible for the white 
man to separate them. To the Indian, no doubt, the 
distinctions are clear, but no white man has ever been 
.able thoroughly to fathom and understand the Indian 
mind and psychology. 
Moreover, the Indian looks upon everything from 
a viewpoint totally different from the white man’s. 
He is far more imaginative, he is poetically and ro- 
mantically inclined, and he is wont to see in every- 
thing some occult or supernatural influence or mean- 
ing. Being unable to account for many things which 
science has made simple for us, he attributes them 
to the spirits, deities, or devils, according to their 
character and influence upon his life. Much of the 
Indian’s religion and beliefs is built upon myths, 
legends, and folklore. Accustomed to most remark- 
able natural phenomena which are inexplicable to 
him, he is quite ready to believe in almost any ex- 
planation, no matter how ridiculous, far-fetched, or 


utterly impossible it may be. 
92 


SUPERSTITIONS AND LEGENDS 93 


So, too, the Indian reasons backward from cause 
to effect rather than from effect to cause, and in- 
vents a reason and a sequence of events to account 
for anything which is not obvious by actual observa- 
tion. Often his theories and explanations are plaus- 
ible, even if quite impossible. In Indian folklore 
and traditions, great ingenuity, a keen sense of 
humor, and a most vivid imagination are shown. 
This is particularly true of those myths dealing with 
the habits and peculiarities of wild creatures, stories 
which remind us forcibly of the Uncle Remus tales. 

Oddly enough, there are many Indian legends 
dealing with a great flood. Basing their claims on 
this, many persons have argued that it proves the 
literal truth of the Biblical story, while others have 
tried to identify the Indians with the Israelites be- 
cause of the flood tales. As a matter of fact, such 
legends are common to nearly every primitive race. 
In every land where there are rains or rivers, there 
are and always have been floods, and as floods are 
usually disastrous events to primitive man, it is only 
natural that such catastrophes should be perpetu- 
ated in the tribal legends. 

Although every tribe has its own folk tales, leg- 
ends and myths, very often there is a striking simi- 
larity between tales of widely separated and ap- 
parently distinct tribes. As a rule, certain tales will 
be known only to certain tribes of strong racial af- 
finities, or to tribes so closely associated that the 
stories have become common property. Also, folk 
tales, like commodities, are traded from tribe to 
tribe. A story which appeals to an Indian may be 


94 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


carried by word of mouth for incredible distances, 
to crop up, most unexpectedly, far from its original 
source. Among many tribes, the story-teller, or, if 
I may use the term, the historian, is a highly 
esteemed individual and is always welcomed with 
open arms as an entertainer. Merely by telling tales 
he earns an easy livelihood and he may travel in per- 
fect safety from tribe to tribe, even among hostiles, 
telling his stories wherever he stops. Very often 
these tales are very long—veritable continued 
stories. I have often listened to the droning voice of 
a narrator relating a legend night after night, 
beginning each time where he had left off the previ- 
ous evening, while his andience gathered about and 
listened, as thrilled and expectant as the most avid 
reader of our own serials awaiting the next instal- 
ment of a story. 

Of course such itinerant story-tellers keep adding 
to their stock in trade, picking up a tale here, another 
there, often weaving several legends into one, add- 
ing their own ideas, suiting their descriptions and 
incidents to the tribesmen to whom they are recount- 
ing their stories, and leaving behind them, memo- 
rized versions which in time become recognized 
tribal myths. In this manner, folk tales, traditions, 
even beliefs and superstitions, become inextricably 
confused. Characters (especially if heroic or super- 
natural) in the tales of one race or district are often 
adopted and embodied in the stories of a totally dis- 
tinct tribe in some far-distant area. 

Any animal or bird which occupies a prominent 
place in a tale of one tribe may be and often is 


SUPERSTITIONS AND LEGENDS 95 


adopted as a character in the stories of a tribe whose 
members have never seen or known the creature. 
Indeed, the very fact that such characters are wholly 
strange makes them the more mystical and interest- 
ing and the more likely to be perpetuated. As a 
result, persons unfamiliar with conditions are often 
misled and assume that because an Indian tribe de- 
scribes certain creatures in the tribal legends such 
creatures must have been known to the race, and, 
on this basis, attempt to trace migrations, origins, 
and relationships. 

Several volumes might be filled with Indian folk 
stories, legends and myths but the following are 
typical examples and will serve as illustrations of 
all. 


Tye Carte Story oF THE F'Loop 


In the beginning, says the Carib legend, the birds 
and beasts could talk with man, and the sun and 
moon walked about the earth. At that time, there 
was but one man on earth and he was the first Carib. 
He was very friendly with all beasts and birds and 
had not learned to kill them and eat their flesh, and 
so he was hard put to it to find enough to eat, for 
there was very little food in the land. 

One day, however, the man noticed that the tapir 
went each day into the forest and returned well filled 
with food, and, knowing the creature must have some 
secret spot at which he ate, the Carib spoke to him 
and said: ‘‘Tell me, Tapir, where to find the food 
upon which you grow so sleek and fat, for I am very 
hungry and know not where I may seek more food 
to fill my stomach,”’ 


96 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


But the tapir was greedy and laughed at the man 
and refused to tell. 

Then the Carib called to the onto and told 
him to follow the tapir and see where he went each 
day. The woodpecker agreed to this, and the next 
morning, when the tapir rose from his bed among the 
_ reeds by the riverside and went to seek his food, the 
woodpecker followed, flying from tree to tree, and 
always keeping the tapir in view. — 

But the woodpecker was hungry and, each time 
that he lit upon a tree, he tapped loudly with his bill, 
seeking for worms. The tapir heard the noise and 
noticing that the woodpecker was following him 
wherever he went, he became suspicious and led the 
bird far astray until the woodpecker, becoming 


Pe ae ee ee 


weary, flew back to the Carib and told him he could — 


not find the tapir’s feeding place. 

This made the man very angry and, raising his 
club, he struck the bird. The club, hitting the wood- 
pecker’s head, left a blood-stained mark, and, to 
this day, all woodpeckers have the red mark on the 
back of the head, and whenever a woodpecker sees 
a man, he utters his cry of fear and hides behind a 
tree trunk. 

Next, the Carib went to the paca (an animal 
much like a giant guinea pig) and, telling him of his 
troubles, he asked the paca to follow the tapir and 
find out where food was so plentiful. — 

The paca agreea, and waddled off after the tapir. 
But he.soon forgot all about his bargain with the 
man, ahd ate and ate, until he could hold no more. 
Then at last, he remembered his promise and started 
to go back to the Carib. But he was so full that he 
could barely move, and feeling drowsy ana his 
feast, he fell fast asleep. ft 


Drawi 


> ot oO 


6 


THe CARIB STORY OF THE 


ngs from Indians’ Sketches to Illustrate the Folklore Story 
1 


“The monkey lifted the basket f 


FLoop 


rom the stump.” 

. “The woodpecker stopped to tap on the trees.” 

“The man lifted the labba by its tail.” 

. “The tapir.” 

_ “The labba after its tail came off.” 

. “The man pulled out are alligator 
9 


’s tongue.” 


98 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


Meanwhile the Carib was starving, and at last he 
set out to seek food for himself. Presently he came 
upon the sleeping paca, with corn still in his mouth. 
Then the Carib, knowing the paca had found food, 
seized the creature by the tail and shook him in 
anger. The paca’s tail was very slender, and the 
paca was so heavy with all the food he had eaten that 
the tail broke short off; and ever since, pacas have 
had no tails. 

The paca, who is a very timid creature, was 
greatly afraid of the Carib’s anger; so he quickly 
led him to a spot where grew a great tree. This 
_ tree was different from all other trees, for its trunk 
was of stone and upon its branches grew every kind 
of fruit and seed and root. Some bore corn, others 
cassava, others beans, others sugar cane, others 
plantains, others pineapples, and others such useful 
things as cotton, arrow canes, and silk grass. Some 
of the fruits and grains had ripened and fallen to the 
ground and these the Carib ate; but he was not 
satisfied, so he fell to work with his ax and chopped 
down the tree. 

The center of the trunk was hollow, and from the 
hole gushed a stream of water which spread over the 
land and nearly drowned the man. Then the Carib 
seized a basket and placed it upside down on the 
stump. This stopped the flow of water and the 
Carib lay down and slept. 

As the Carib slumbered, the monkey drew near. 
Seeing the basket upon the stump, and curious to 
learn what nice thing the man had hidden under it, 
he crept forward and lifting the edge of the basket, 
peeped beneath. Instantly the water rushed forth 
stronger than ever and flooded the land, and the 


a 


SUPERSTITIONS AND LEGENDS 99 


Carib and the birds and animals barely saved them- 
selves by climbing into a tall palm tree. 

There they sat and waited for the waters to go 
down, and the red baboon, growing impatient, opened 
his mouth and roared and howled so loudly that his 
throat was swollen. To this day, all the red baboons 
have swollen throats and they how] and roar loudly 
whenever it looks like rain. 

But the flood still continued, and the Carib busied 
himself by tossing palm nuts into the water to judge 
of its depth by the sound of the splash, until at last 
he knew the water was going down. 

Then bits of the earth showed above water and 
the Carib and the birds and beasts started to de- 
scend. The trumpet bird was in such a hurry that 
he flew quickly down and landed in an ants’ nest, and 
the ants, crawling up his fat legs, bit and gnawed 
at them until they were thin and spindly as they 
are to-day, while the pain of the ants’ stings made 
the poor bird dance and hop about, just as all 
trumpet birds still dance and hop about in the forest 
to-day. 

As soon as the Carib reached the ground, he tried 
to make a fire by rubbing two sticks together, and 
at last he made a tiny spark. As he turned his back 
a moment, the marudi pheasant saw the spark and 
thinking it a firefly, gobbled it up and flew away. 
The spark burned the marudi’s throat; and all ma- 
rudis still have their necks red and bare of feathers, 
where the spark burned the marudi long ago. 

When the Carib missed the spark he had made, 
he became angry and cried out to all the birds and 
beasts, demanding who had stolen his fire. 

And all the birds and beasts answered that it was 
the alligator whom they hated for his ugliness, al- 


100 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


though he was harmless and gentle in those days. 
Then the Carib became furious and seizing the alli- 
gator’s tongue, tore it out looking for the spark. 
That is why the alligator has but a bit of a tongue 
and lives by himself in the water and hates all other 
creatures and kills all that come near. 

At last the Carib made more fire and cooked food 
In the flood most of the seeds and roots had been’ 
carried away, so the man, having gathered up as 
many as he could find, dug holes in the earth and 
planted them, that he and his progeny might never 
go hungry again. So, to-day, the fruits and seeds 
that once grew upon the stone tree are found 
throughout the land, where they were carried by the 
flood; but man plants only a few that were saved by 
the first Carib. 


Not only is this a typical legend of its kind, but 
it also is an excellent example of the Indian’s method 
of reasoning and of accounting for anything which to 
them is inexplicable by natural causes. Thus, they 
point out a slender eroded stone column which’ 
stands prominently beside the river in the forest 
and which, as a matter of fact, does resemble a giant 
tree trunk, and declare, in all seriousness that this is 
the stump of the tree cut down by the original Carib. 

‘Another typical story is the Akawoia version of 
the creation, which is as follows: 


How tue Antmats Were Mane 


According to the Akawoias, Tuminkar, the cre- 
ator, first made the earth and the waters, the rivers 
and the land, the forests and mountains, and the 


SUPERSTITIONS AND LEGENDS 101 


plants and flowers. Then, having finished, he tossed 
the remaining bits of leaves, sticks, and blossoms 
into the air. As he did so he gave them life and 
they became insects; the flowers butterflies, the 
leaves grasshoppers and similar things, and the 
twigs and bits of earth, beetles, bugs, scorpions, and 
crawling things, while grains of sand became ants. 

Then, taking a bit of clay, Tuminkar modeled it 
with a head and body and eyes, but he could not make 
good legs; so, throwing it into the river, he said, 
‘*You are too ugly to be seen, go and live out of sight 
in the mud.’’ So the manatee was made. Again 
Tuminkar tried to make some creature, but still he 
was not successful, and every piece of clay that he 
formed was cast into the river and became a fish. _ 

Then Tuminkar at last made the snakes and the 
serpents, and by adding legs, he made the frogs and 
the toads. But still they were ugly things until 
Tuminkar tried adding a tail and thus made the liz- 
ard. He was pleased with this and made them larger 
and larger until he formed the iguana and finally the 
alligator and the crocodile. 

Then he said to himself, ‘‘ There must be some one 
to rule all these creatures. Why should I not make 
something in my own form which they will know as 
the ruler of them all?’’ So it came about that Tum- 
inkar made men and women and gave them greater 
knowledge than any other living creatures. They 
were friendly with all things and ate only the fruits 
and roots and seeds which Tuminkar had provided. 

Having made man and woman, Tuminkar decided 
to make other creatures to dwell upon the earth with 
them, for the man and the woman thought the toads, 
frogs, lizards, and snakes dull and ugly creatures, 
while the insects would either fly away or sting them, 


102 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


and the fishes could not leave the waters to be with 
them. 

As Tuminkar fashioned the new creatures, he 
gave them voices and calls and asked each where he 
preferred to dwell and what he would choose to eat. 
Then, according to their choice, he gave them teeth 
and claws and colors. 

The first creature made was the monkey, for Tum- 
inkar had just finished the man and his fingers un- 
consciously molded the clay into a shape like the 
man. Then, that he might easily be known from man, 
he gave the monkey a tail and a coat of hair. The 
monkey was very proud of being so like man and 
strutted about on the ground and could not make up 
his mind where to live or what to eat and so, while 
he waited for the answer, Tuminkar went on with 
the next beast. ; 

This was the jaguar and when he was asked where 
he would dwell and what he would eat, the jaguar 
glanced about and seeing the monkey, exclaimed, ‘‘I 
will live on the ground and eat other creatures,’’ and 
with that he sprang at the monkey. But he had not 
been given his claws and teeth and the monkey 
slipped from him and screamed, ‘‘I will live in the 
trees and eat fruit,’’ and at once he leaped into 
the nearest tree. Here, feeling safe, he chattered 
at the jaguar and threw fruit at him and these, 
striking the jaguar’s yellow coat, left black marks 
which you may see to this day. The monkeys still 
chatter when they see the jaguar and the jaguars 
love monkey meat better than any other food. _ 

Then Tuminkar made the deer, while the jaguar 
and the monkey watched. When the deer was fin- 
ished, he looked at the trees and seeing the monkey 
so like a man he feared to live there, and then glanc- 


= ee eee — Se 


SUPERSTITIONS AND LEGENDS 103 


ing upon the ground he saw the jaguar with his cruel 
teeth and claws. But the deer was fleet of foot and 
feeling sure he could outrun the jaguar and would 
be safer on the earth than in the trees, he said in a 
very low voice, ‘‘I will live on the ground and eat 
grass.’’ So Tuminkar gave him his teeth and his 
hoofs and turned him loose. Instantly the jaguar 
sprang at him; but the deer was almost out of reach 
and the jaguar’s teeth just closed upon the deer’s 
tail, biting a bit of it off and leaving two white edges 
where the sharp fangs scraped along. 

Next, Tuminkar made the wild hog (peccary) and 
the hog, when asked his choice, replied, ‘‘Make more 
of us that we may consult together where best to 
live and feed.’’ So Tuminkar made more hogs, and 
consulting together, they decided they would dwell 
in the forests and eat roots. But as there were so 
many of them the jaguar feared to attack them, and 
grunting, they ran into the forest unmolested. Ever 
since that time wild hogs have always lived together 
in herds. 

Then Tuminkar made the labba (paca) and the 
labba chose to live on the ground, for his short legs 
and heavy body would not do for climbing trees. As 
he waddled off, the jaguar sprang upon him, but the 
labba rolled into the river and the jaguar let go his 
hold. You may still see the white marks of his claws 
upon the labba’s sides and back, and to this day 
the labba lives near the river and tumbles into the 
water when frightened. | 

Tuminkar next made the kinkajou (or honey 
bear). As he formed him, the monkey cried out that 
all the beasts were choosing the ground and that he 
would be left alone in the trees, and Tuminkar’s ears 
being filled with the monkey’s words, he absent- 


104 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


mindedly formed the kinkajou partly like the mon- 
key. As soon as the kinkajou was finished, and be- 
fore Tuminkar could ask the question, the monkey 
screamed, ‘‘Say you will live in the trees and eat 
fruit,’? and then, being a very greedy creature and 
fearing there would not be enough fruit for two, he 
added, ‘‘and insects and honey.’’ So the kinkajou 
still lives with the monkeys in the trees and eats fruit 
and honey and insects. | 

Next Tuminkar began to make the agouti, but be- 
ing interrupted by the monkey who wanted another 
companion, Tuminkar became angry and threw a 
bit of clay at the monkey. Now it happened that this 
was the piece of clay for the agouti’s tail and so the 
agouti has always been without a tail. 

After the agouti, Tuminkar made the tapir, and as 
the monkey looked on from the trees and saw the 
great beast taking form, he said to himself, ‘‘Sup- 
pose that fellow should decide to live in the trees. 
He is so big and heavy he would break the branches, 
and to fill his big stomach would take all the fruit. 
Of course he should live on the ground, but if he sees 
the jaguar he’ll never do so.’’ 

But the monkey was afraid to call down to the 
tapir, as he had done to the kinkajou, for fear that 
Tuminkar would throw clay at him, and, thought he, 
‘‘Suppose it should strike me; it would be a great 
nuisance to have a tail or a leg sticking out of my 
head or my back.”’ 

Then, seeing Tuminkar was very busy, the monkey 
climbed down from the tree, and getting out of sight 
behind the tapir’s back, he whispered in his ear, 
‘Don’t say anything.’’ So when Tuminkar asked 
the tapir his choice, the creature was silent, for, 
thought he, ‘‘This fellow whispering in my ear is 


a 


SUPERSTITIONS AND LEGENDS 108 


so like a man he must know more than I.’’ Again 
Tuminkar asked the question and once more the 
monkey whispered, ‘‘Don’t answer,’’ and again the 
tapir was silent. 

Then Tuminkar became pared and cried out, ‘‘ You 
are a stupid beast. Go live where you please and eat 
what you can get. Be off with you!’’ So saying, he 
grasped a stick and struck the tapir across the rump 
and the stick, hitting the tapir’s newly made tail, 
broke it off. So to-day the tapir lives on the ground 
and is silent and eats leaves from the trees as well 
as grass and reeds and has but a stump of a tail. 

Tuminkar saw the monkey scrambling away and 
guessed he had been up to mischief, and, becoming 
disgusted with the choices of the creatures, he ex- 
claimed, ‘‘None of you know what is best for your- 
selves, so hereafter I’ll leave you no choice but will 
settle the matter myself.’’ 

‘‘And as for you,’’ he continued, addressing the 
monkey, ‘‘you’re a meddler and a mischievous fel- 
low; but I’ll soon settle that.’’ 

So he made the ocelot and giving him sharp teeth 
and claws he said to him, ‘‘Go after that rascally 
monkey. If you cannot catch him for your food, 
hunt on the ground.’’ The ocelot sprang at the 
monkey, but the latter had been listening and leaped 
off and the ocelot’s fresh coat was rubbed and 
blurred and streaked in spots as he knocked against 
the branches while chasing the monkey. So, even to- 
day, the ocelot is the monkey’s wor st enemy and 
when he cannot catch monkeys he feeds on other 
creatures on the ground. 

So Tuminkar continued to make animals. He made 
the coati and the raccoon, the opossum and the 
hacka, the fox and the rat, the otter and the squirrel, 


106 THE AMERICAN INDIAN” 


and many other creatures. At last, nearly all the 
claws were used and when he came to the sloths he 
could spare but three claws for one and two for the 
other, for fear none would be left for other animals. 
Then he found he had used the last of the teeth so 
when he made the ant-eaters he was obliged to let 
them go without teeth. He placed so much hair on 
the ant bear that none was left. As he had no teeth 
and only a few claws remaining, he made the birds, 
giving them feathers instead of fur and hair, and 
beaks in place of teeth, and only two feet in order 
to save claws. 

Finally, only a lump of dirty clay and a few dad 
claws were left. These Tuminkar formed into the 
armadillo, but it was such a naked, helpless thing 
that he took pity on it. Rising he took the basket 
which had held the clay, and clapping it over the 
armadillo he exclaimed: ‘‘You have no teeth with 
which to bite, and no hair to protect yourself. So, 
live in holes in the earth and hide yourself beneath 
the basket when you come forth.’’ So, to this day, 
the armadillo lives in burrows and never is he seen 
without the basket covering his back. 


Very similar to these legends of the South Amer- 
ican Indians are those of our North American tribes. 
An excellent example of these is the following: 


Tre ARIKARA Story oF CREATION 


According to the legends of this tribe, all the dif- 
ferent kinds of living beings, including the human 
race, originated and were confined within the earth. 
Here they were much crowded, and had but little 


SUPERSTITIONS AND LEGENDS 107 


light, and they began to realize their condition and 
felt more and more the desire to find light and free- 
dom. At that time of beginnings there were none of 
the living creatures as we know them. There were 
no fishes in the waters, no birds or insects in the 
air, no animals and no men upon the earth. But 
these living things within the earth were striving 
and working to reach the surface and find light and 
liberty, so they constantly prayed and groped and 
did their best to explore and find some way to attain 
their desires. But they met with many difficulties 
and obstacles. 

The mole tried to bore through the ground to the 
surface and succeeded, but as he pushed his head 
into the light he was blinded by the sunshine and 
hurriedly drew back. And so to-day, the mole still 
lives just under the surface of the earth and is blind. 

The mole having made an opening, all the other 
living things hurried to push through. But before 
all could emerge, the earth closed upon them and 
so, to this day, the gophers and badgers and snakes 
and many other creatures must still dwell in the 
ground. 
~ Those which had come out in safety began to move 
and to travel to the west. On their way they came 
to a great body of water. Here was another obstacle 
to be overcome, and all their powers were exerted in 
trying to cross the water. Those that could fly had 
little trouble, but those that could not tried other 
ways. Before ail could swim or jump or cross by 
other means, the waters closed upon some, and so 
we still find people of the waters, such as the fishes, 
the frogs, the turtles, and other creatures which 
dwell in the rivers and the sea. 

Once more the living things which had crossed the 


108 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


water continued on their way, but after a time they — 
came to a dense forest, and again their way was — 
stopped. Here they prayed and called on the ele- — 
ments to aid them and used all their own powers in — 
order to pass through the seemingly impenetrable 
forest. Some made their way without much trouble, | 
but others had a hard time, and some failed to get — 
through and had to remain forever in the woods. 
These people became the deer, the moose, the bears, 
and poreupines, and all the forest folk asst, and 
small. 

And then God, seeing that certain people had over- 
come all the difficulties put in their way, and to pray- 
ers and offerings had trusted more than to their own 
efforts, He blessed these people as human beings and 
revealed mysteries to them and gave them the great- 
est power of all creatures. He gave them a sacred 
(medicine) bundle and a medicine pipe to use in 
prayer. He taught them religion and how to wor- 
ship, and, as He showed us, so we do to this day. 
He gave to them roots and seeds and many kinds of 
plants to be used both as food and as medicine. 

He blessed all living creatures upon earth, the 
trees and flowers and vines and grasses, all the grow- 
ing things, all the living beings upon the lap of 
Mother Earth which look up at the Sun, all the ani- 
mals on the earth and in the waters, and the fowls of 
the air. And He said that all were friends of the 
human beings and should not be mistreated, that all 
things had their place in the universe and should be 
treated with respect. It was taught. that the pipe 
should be used to offer smoke to all things that God 
had blessed. And so it has been done from that dis- 
tant time until to-day. 

But there were two creatures, two dogs, which | 


SUPERSTITIONS AND LEGENDS _ 109 


were asleep when the smoke offerings were made, 
and they were forgotten. So, when they awoke they 
were grieved and angry because they had been 
neglected when smoke offerings had been made to all 
other living things. And they said to the people: 
‘*You have failed to make smoke offerings to us. 
Therefore to punish you we shall bite you, and yet 
we will never leave you. We shall follow you and 
be with you forever.”’ 

The names of these two dogs were Sickness and 
Death, and so, as they said, Sickness and Death are 
always among all living things upon the earth. Our 
powers increase and diminish, we have strength and 
weariness, we are bitten by Sickness and bitten by 
Death. The sun rises and shines but is overcome by 
darkness ; the moon waxes to fullness and then fades 
away; the flowers bloom and then wither; the leaves 
come forth and are cut down by autumn; the wind 
blows and there is calm. So changes come to all 
things; all sicken and die. But though Sickness and 
Death may bite, yet ever all things that are bitten 
return and are born again. 


To us such myths seem merely fanciful fairy tales. 
But they are very real to the Indian. The Indian, 
constantly in touch with nature, and, throughout his 
life faced with phenomena which he cannot explain 
by natural causes, sees nothing improbable or impos- 
sible in nature. To him, there is no reason why spir- 
its or deities should not converse with men, nor why 
certain supermen should not have conversed with 
the lower animals. Moreover, he has absolute faith 
in dreams and signs, and, under certain conditions, 
he is able to work himself into a state of exalted 


110 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


semihypnosis during which he sees visions and is 
convinced that he is in touch with spirits. 

We may call this superstition and laugh at it, but 
is it any more ridiculous than the inbred supersti- 
tions that nearly every civilized white man and 
woman possesses? With few exceptions, people will 
not knowingly walk under a ladder; there are few 
who do not inwardly dread the breaking of a mirror, 
even though they may outwardly scoff at it; even 
many of our hardest-headed business men believe in 
the ill luck connected with the number thirteen; and 
the lucrative business carried on by palmists, astrol- 
ogers, fortune tellers, spiritualists, and others testi- 
fies to the superstitious tendencies of the public. 


CHAPTER VII 
MEDICINES AND MEDICINE MEN 


RACTICALLY every tribe of American In- 
dians has its medicine men, doctors, priests, 
shamen, witch doctors, machis, nelis, leles, peaimen, 
or whatever they may be called, men who, in most 
cases, embody a variety of professions or positions 
and are usually a powerful factor in their tribe. 
Many of these medicine men, or women, possess 
hypnotic powers; others have an almost uncanny 
gift of mind-reading or mental telepathy; and, with 
few exceptions, they are past masters at concocting 
drugs, medicines, poisons, and are experts at sleight 
of hand. © 
_ Of course there is a great deal of nonsense and 
hocus-pocus connected with the office of medicine 
man, and they themselves know that many of their 
supposed supernatural powers and performances 
are pure fakes. But, with few exceptions, they be- 
lieve as firmly as do any of their tribesmen that they 
possess supernatural powers and can communicate 
with spirits. Often, too, in fact generally, they are 
men, or women (for among some tribes the women 
occupy the position of medicine man) who are of 


superior intelligence, whose advice is sound, and 
111 


112 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


who were acknowledged leaders before anes became © 


medicine men. 

The powers and the reverence accorded to these 
men and women vary among different tribes. In 
some cases the shaman or medicine man ranks higher 
than a chief; in others he is regarded merely as a 
doctor; in still other cases his duties are confined to 
working spells, interpreting dreams, and forecasting 
events; while among some tribes he is regarded as a 
holy man or priest and has no authority or standing 
except in religious affairs. 

Very often, however, his power is tremendous and 
he is so feared by his fellows that his word is abso- 
lute law. In such cases his office enables him to 
benefit himself and work havoe with those whose 


enmity or jealousies he has aroused. This is the 


case among many of the South American tribes 
where the medicine man or peaiman is supposed to 
be able to go into a trance and name the person re- 
sponsible for any offense, including the death or ill- 
ness of a member of the tribe which is supposedly 
due to poison, to the evil eye, or to witchcraft. No 
one dares question the peaiman’s selection, and 
hence, very often, he is able to rid himself of some 
undesirable competitor or enemy by the simple 
means of giving his name as the guilty party. 
Several methods are followed in reaching this 
momentous decision; but, in every case, it is by sup- 
posedly supernatural or spiritual means. In this, 


the use of proxies again come into practice. For 


example, a member of the tribe dies under suspicious 
or at least inexplicable circumstances, and the peai- 


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MEDICINES AND MEDICINE MEN 113 


_ man is asked to locate the person responsible for the 


death. An image or mask is made and named after 


the deceased Indian, and the peaiman, wearing the 


mask or carrying the image, becomes, so the Indians 
believe, possessed with the dead man’s spirit and 


; ean therefore tell who caused the death. Thus the 


medicine man acts as a proxy for the dead man, and 
induces the latter’s spirit to take possession of him 
by using a proxy in the form of an image or mask. 

Once the offender’s identity has thus been estab- 
lished, the Kenaima comes into play. This is a 
rather involved and mysterious custom in which 
proxies, superstition, religion, feudism, spiritualism, 
and vengeance are all combined. Literally, the word 
Kenaima means the blood-avenger, an invisible 
spirit whose sole duty is to avenge a death, but who 
is powerless to wreak vengeance except when enter- 
ing a human being and taking possession of him. 
Hence, when a death is to be avenged, an Indian 


- (usually of the dead man’s immediate family or a 


blood relation) becomes Kenaima, or in other words, 


he offers himself as a | suitable proxy for the aveng- 
es ang spirit. 


_§So sincere is his belief that the spirit actually takes 


, possession of him that, mentally and physically, he 
is transformed, and, forsaking all human compan- 


- jonship, subsisting on little or nothing, he becomes 


_ the avenger whose sole object in life is to hunt down 
and destroy the murderer, either real or supposed, 
of his fellow tribesman. No human being must see 

or speak to him until his mission is accomplished 


for, according to the Indians’ belief, any one en- 


114 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


countering the Kenaima would become possessed of 
the avenging spirit or would incur his wrath. Hence, 
whenever a Kenaima, ranging the forest in search 
of his victim, approaches a village, camp, or human 
being, he utters a peculiar warning whistle, where- 
upon all hearers hide themselves in fear and trem- 
bling. 

When at last the Kenaima comes upon his quarry 
he may destroy him in one of two ways. If he has 
chosen to be a ‘‘Tiger’’ Kenaima he must strike 
down his man with a short, especially made Kenaima 
club; but if he has become a ‘‘camudi’’ (anaconda) 
Kensie! he must kill his victim by phic him 
with his bare hands. 

In either case, if the full rites are waded out to 
the letter, the Kenaima must return to the body 
after three days and plunge a stake or spear into the 
corpse. He must then lick the point of the weapon 
in order to release the avenger’s spirit, as otherwise 
he would continue wandering about and would kill 
all whom he met. So fixed is this belief that a 
Kenaima, unable to accomplish this portion of his 
task, actually becomes a homicidal maniac. For this 
reason the ceremony is usually performed as soon as 
the victim is dead. 


There is no escape from a Kenaima. He is tire- — 


less, almost superhuman in his fanaticism, and he 
will not hesitate to follow a victim into civilized com- 
munities and strike him down on the public street. 


It makes no difference if the Kenaima himself is | 
killed. By some seemingly occult means the tribe — 


knows instantly if the Kenaima has been destroyed, 


a ae 


MEDICINES AND MEDICINE MEN 115 


and immediately another takes his place. So hope- 
less is it for an Indian to evade the avenger that, as 
a rule, a man who knows a Kenaima is on his trail 
will offer no resistance and will frequently commit 
suicide. 

Moreover, according to Indian law, not only the 
supposed murderer but all of his relatives and 
family must be destroyed. This, of course, leads to 
a Kenaima’s being despatched to kill the relatives of 
the first Kenaima, and, very often, before the feud 
thus started is over, entire tribes are decimated or 
wiped out. 

Other tribes take revenge in a less destructive 
but, to them, equally efficacious manner. An image 
or figure of the offender is made and, after incanta- 
tions by the medicine man, the manikin is mutilated, 
destroyed, burned, or tortured, according to the 
degree of punishment deemed fitting, the belief be- 
ing that the individual represented by the proxy will 
suffer in the same way. Still other tribes even 
scores by putting a curse or a taboo on an enemy 
either real or fancied. This often takes the form of 
convincing the victim, through his faith in the 
medicine man’s powers, that devils or evil spirits 
have taken possession of his body, or again it may 
be social and tribal ostracism which, under such 
socialistic conditions as exist among many tribes, is 
a most terrible punishment. 

Often, too, an evil charm or talisman is placed 
among the victim’s belongings or in his house or 
hammock. This is akin to the obeah practices of the 
African races, and as Indians have absolute faith in 


116 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


such charms the results are usually entirely satisfac- 
tory to the fellow’s enemies. 

Nearly all tribes, both in North and South 
America, have great faith in charms, amulets, talis- 
mans, etc., and, very frequently, the charms actually 
bring about the desired results. This is not, of 
course, because of any power or inherent qualities 
of the talismans, but merely because of the implicit 
faith in them. 

Among the Patamonas of Guiana, the women use 
the dried and powdered flowers of a leguminous vine 
as a love potion. According to their belief, if this 
powder is thrown on a man’s face, or is scattered 
over him, he will marry the user of the powder or 
go insane. As the men believe as thoroughly in this 
as do the women it is obvious that the charm will 
always work. A man upon whom the powder is scat-. 
tered is convinced that if he does not marry the 
woman he will go mad and hence he marries her, 
with the result that belief in the magical properties 
of the charm is still more firmly established. 

In other words, the results attained are, in many 
cases, purely psychological; but as the Indian does: 
not understand psychology and invariably seeks 
some occult or magical solution, the charm or talis- 
man is always given the credit. This is the case 
with the innumerable hunting, fishing, travel, dance, 
war, love, and other charms so widely used by the 
Indians. A hunter, without his talisman, has no 
self-confidence; he feels that he will not be success- 
ful, and, as a result, he is not. But possessing his 
favorite talisman he feels confident he will secure 


Ba ee ee er ser 


MEDICINES AND MEDICINE MEN 117 


game, he unconsciously does his best, and he suc- 
ceeds. 

Many of the talismans or charms used are most 
peculiar. Often they are most incongruous objects, 
bits of hair, toe or finger nails, seeds or bulbs, which 
to us have no connection with the supposed object of 
the charm. But fully as often, the charm will be 
obviously what it is intended for. Bits of the animal 
for which a hunter seeks, scales or bones of fish, 
feathers and beaks of birds, or tiny wooden, skin, 
stone, clay, or beadwork images of the creatures are 
often used. 

As a rule, also, secrecy is a very potent factor in 
the success of charms. To let another see or handle 
a charm destroys its efficiency. Among many tribes 
a man’s charms are ruined if a woman looks at them 
or even if her shadow falls upon them; and the re- 
verse is the case with the women’s charms. 

Of a different class are the charms consisting of 
self-inflicted wounds, tortures, or injuries. These, 
known to the jungle tribes of northeastern South 
America as beenas, are widely used and, the more 
painful the charm the more efficacious it is according 
to Indian belief. In other words, the use of the 
beena is akin to the fanatical Christian’s idea that 
self flagellation, fasting, and other forms of ab- 
negation made him more worthy of the Lord’s favor 
and more fit for eternal salvation. 

The commonest forms of these beenas are certain 
plants whose leaves, fruits, roots, ete. contain 
strongly acid or irritating juices. When an Indian 
is about to start on a hunt or any other undertaking 


118 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


he will select the proper leaf or root and, scratching 
or cutting his arms, legs, body or face, he will rub 
the irritating juices into the wounds. To the Indian, 
each of the beena or charm leaves or plants has its 
distinctive purpose. Thus the leaf of a caladium 
with white streaks and spots is the paca beena, as 
the paca is similarly spotted; a black-mottled leaf is 
the jaguar charm, and so on. Very often there is 
no visible reason for the association of a certain 
beena plant and the purpose it is used for. For cer- 
tain undertakings the body of a frog or toad is sub- 
stituted for a plant. The creature’s body may be 
burned and the ashes rubbed into the wounds, or 
the slime from the living reptile may be employed. 

For more important or serious matters, more dras- 
tic measures are used, and among such the ‘‘ant 
beenas’’ and ‘‘centipede beenas’’ are common. The 
ant beena consists of a wooden or basketry frame, 
constructed like a grid, into the interstices of which 
biting ants are thrust with their heads and jaws 
projecting on one side. This is then pressed against 
the user’s body or limbs so that the scores of ants 
bite the flesh viciously. The centipede beena is simi- 
lar, a single centipede being substituted for the ants. 

But the most drastic and painful of all such 
charms is the ‘‘nose beena.’’ This consists of a 
braided fiber affair from two to three feet in length 
and tapering from a point at one end to a diameter 
of half an inch at the other which terminates in a 
large bunch or tassel of loose fibers. When this 
charm is to be used a biting ant is attached to the 
small end by a bit of wax, and is thrust up the user’s 


fe ae ee a 


MEDICINES AND MEDICINE MEN 119 


nostril. Biting as he goes, and being pushed from 
the rear, the ant travels through the nasal passages 
until he emerges in the throat. The Indian then 
seizes the end of the beena and draws the whole 
rough fiber affair through his nose and out of his 
mouth. It is almost impossible to imagine the in- 
tense agony this operation must cause but this, to 
the Indian, merely proves it a most powerful charm, 
and hence the suffering is endured without outward 
indications except profuse watering of the eyes and 
a flow of blood from mouth and nose. 

These are all temporary charms to be used as 
occasions arise, but there are also permanent charms 
or talismans. These are designs tattooed on the 
Indian’s face or body and they supposedly operate 
for his benefit throughout his life. Hunting, fish- 
ing, war, dance, and medicine charms are often of 
this character as used by men: The women of South 
American tribes are frequently tattooed with drink 
charms which indicate that they not only are the 
selected beverage-makers of their clan or tribe, but 
are also protected from evil spirits’ entering their 
bodies or the drinks they prepare. 

Many of these charms and talismans verge on the 
line of true medicines, although just where an Indian 
charm and a true medicine begins or ends is a puzzle 
to a white man. 

To the Indian the term ‘‘medicine,’’ or rather its 
equivalent in his own dialect, does not necessarily 
mean a remedy. It may imply a cure; but it also 
includes magic, witchcraft, spiritualism, dreams, 
prophecies, visions, or anything savoring of the un- 


120 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


canny, the supernatural, the inexplicable, or the 
mysterious; and it is also applied to anything which 
the Indian considers luck, fortune, or fate. More- 
over, he has his good and bad medicine, and the 
word is used as an adjective to describe anything of 
a mysterious nature or anything believed capable 
of influencing his fortunes, acting as a charm, put- 
ting him in communication with spirits, interpreting 
his dreams, or possessing occult powers. Thus he has 
his medicine dances, medicine moccasins, medicine 
houses, medicine bundles, medicine weapons, ete. 
When we realize that a very large proportion of 
Indian remedies are of.a magical or occult character 
we can readily understand why it is so difficult for a 
white man to differentiate between the Indian’s 


medicines, charms, fetishes, proxies, etc. Among 


some tribes, to be sure, the use of herbs, roots, and 
other vegetable specifics is prevalent, and, in many 
cases, these Indians possess a very extensive and 
thorough knowledge of the medicinal properties of 
such things. : 

In fact, many of our most valued and reliable 
medicines and drugs are of Indian origin and were 
known to and used by the Indians centuries before 
the advent of Europeans in America. Such are 
arnica, wintergreen, balm of Gilead, pine tar, camo- 
mile, and many other standard medicines ordinarily 
accredited to our pioneer ancestors, but in reality 
obtained by them from their Indian friends. 

In Panama, the Coclé tribe makes use of many 
valuable and efficacious remedies, such as the leaves 
and bark of the coca shrub, bruised and used to al- 


MEDICINES AND MEDICINE MEN 121 


leviate pain, though never as a drug; aromatic gums 
and astringents mixed with unguents as salves for 
wounds; decoctions of bitter roots for tonics; the 
bark of the cinchona tree for malaria; salts for pur- 
gatives, ete. 

In Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador the chewing of coca 
is almost universal, the leaves being masticated in 
conjunction with a piece of lime or some ashes, and 
the small amount of cocaine thus derived serving as 
a stimulant. By chewing the coca the Andean In- 
dians can go without food for an incredible period, 
and can and do perform most prodigious feats of 
endurance, tramping with huge loads over the moun- 
tains with no signs of fatigue. It is in these same 
lands that the Indians had learned the medicinal 
value of quinine long before America was known to 
the Spaniards. 

Many a white man owes his life to the medicinal 
knowledge of the Indians, and I can personally 
testify to the efficiency of Indians as physicians, for 
I was safely brought through an attack of yellow 
fever by Indians and Indian medicines. 

Among many tribes, too, the true medicinal reme- 
dies are combined with many nostrums and a deal 
of hocus-pocus, magic, charms, ete. This is unques- 
tionably due very largely to the medicine man’s de- 
sire to keep his medicines secret, a result which he 
accomplishes by confusing his patients and fellow 
tribesmen with his mummery and charms, and lead- 
ing them to believe that the cure is magical while, in 
reality, the cure is effected by simple medication. 

Among still other tribes true remedies are never 


122 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


used and the medicine man’s stock in trade consists 
wholly of supposedly magical remedies. Very often 
some of these nostrums are highly amusing. Bits of 
glass, bottle stoppers, old door-knobs, discarded elec- 
tric-light bulbs, oddly shaped or colored pebbles, 
bones, teeth, claws, skulls, oddly shaped sticks and 
knots, buttons, and over one hundred other articles 
were contained in a medicine basket which I ob- 
tained from a noted ‘Tupi-towali (San Blas) medi- 
cine man. 

Many of these objects had been worn thin and 
had acquired a high polish from repeated use for, 
as the old fellow explained, the ‘‘cures’’ were ef- 
fected by rubbing the afflicted part of the patient’s 
body with the proper ‘‘medicine.’’ Thus, in the 
case of an injury to the head, or a headache, the 
skull of some animal was rubbed upon the patient’s 
head. If the injury or trouble was in a leg, the leg 
bone of some bird or animal was used, the particu- 
lar article employed depending upon the nature of 
the injury and the sick person’s clan. For instance, 
if a man injured his leg in a boat the bone of some 
water bird or animal must be used, the exact iden- 
tity of the creature depending upon the clan or 
patron animal of the patient. If he was of the 
pelican clan then a pelican’s leg was essential, and 
so on. : 

Just what clan and what particular injury called 
for the use of the old door knobs I was unable to 
ascertain; but the old ‘‘doctor’’ informed me in all 
seriousness that electric-light bulbs were most po- 
tent and reliable specifics for sore eyes and blind- 


MEDICINES AND MEDICINE MEN 123 


ness because, as he said, the electric light by its 
magic enables one to see in the darkness. 

In this type of doctoring we again find proxies 
in combination with spiritualism, for the medicine, 
in the form of a bone, skull, or other portion of an 
animal of the clan of the patient is, in reality, merely 
a proxy for the creature whose spirit is supposed 
to look after members of its clan. 

There are also tribes whose medical practice con- 
sists of massaging, vapor or medicinal baths, ete., 
while among still others witchcraft and magic, in- 
cantations and medicine dances are the mode. 

As faith has a very large part in effecting any 
cure, even in our own civilized world, the Indians’ 
cures, no matter how ridiculous to us, often work 
wonders. In fact, among the Araucanians, or more 
properly the Mapuches, of southern Chile, the word 
of the machi or medicine woman, together with the 
smoke from her medicine pipe, is sufficient to cure 
almost any ailment of her tribes people. 

Just as the medicines used and the modus operandi 
followed vary among different tribes, so the manner 
in which a medicine man acquires his position or 
obtains his degree varies. In some cases the office is 
hereditary and the position or rank of medicine man 
is handed down from father to son, the secrets of the 
profession being carefully guarded and divulged 
only to the successor. In other cases, the rank is 
acquired through some apparently supernatural or 
magical deed or power: by the alleged visitation of 
a spirit, a miraculous vision, or even by adream. In 
still other cases the medicine man is elected or ap- 


124 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


pointed by vote or council, and, in many cases, a 
man may embody the dual positions of chief and 
medicine man. 

Among some tribes a man’s possession of some 
important secret, such as knowledge of poison-mak- 
ing, may be enough to insure his position and the 
position of his descendants as medicine men. Such 
is the case with the brewers of the deadly wurali 
poison of South America, while among our North 
American Indians a man usually becomes a shaman 
or medicine man by fasting, prayer, and seeing a 
Vision. 

Somewhat similar is the method followed by the 
Tegualas and Tupi-towalis of Central America. 
When a man of these tribes thinks he should become 
a medicine man he goes alone into the jungle and 
fasts for several days. If, during the allotted period, 
a bird alights upon him or comes near him, he knows 
that he is selected for the office. As a symbol of 
this, he carries a staff with the carved figure of a 
bird upon a man’s head or upon a house. He is en- 
titled to wear the feather crown and is recognized 
as a medicine man by his fellows, although he has no 
standing as a chief or ruler. © 

As a rule, the medicine man holds a far more ex- 
alted and powerful place among North American 
than among South American tribes, and many of 
the most famous chiefs of the North American In- 
dians have attained prominence and fame as medi- 
cine men rather than as true chiefs or rulers. Corn 
Planter, Chief Gall, Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph, Ge- 
ronimo, Cochise, and many other famous Indian 


MEDICINES AND MEDICINE MEN 125 


chiefs and warriors were all medicine men as well. 
Very often, such medicine men’s decisions regarding 
war and other highly important matters carried 
more weight than the words of the true chiefs. 

A form of medicine widely used by Indians of both 
North and South America are the medicine sticks or 
offering sticks. These are of various designs and 
are used for many purposes. They may be offerings 
to spirits made to bring about some desired result, 
they may serve as warnings to prevent spirits or per- 
sons from approaching certain spots, or they may. 
serve as invitations. | 

They should not be confused with the prayer 
sticks, which are closely akin to the paper prayers 
of Orientals, although both are closely associated 
with the Indians’ religion. In the case of prayer 
sticks, however, a true prayer or invocation is made, 
the stick acting as concrete evidence and perpetuat- 
ing the prayer, whereas the medicine sticks are true 
offerings or sacrifices and may or may not be ac- 
- companied by prayers. 

Among the Oglala Sioux and related tribes such 
medicine or offering sticks are common. The affair 
consists of a wand of some tree sprout, preferably 
the wild plum, peeled, and painted or not according 
to the taste of the maker. When the stick is painted, 
the colors and designs are symbolic. Thus if colored 
red, it indicates an offering to a supernatural being. 
Near the top of the stick is attached a tiny bundle 
of something which the Indians feel will be pleasing 
to the gods. This may be tobacco, food, medicine, 
cloth, trinkets, hair, or fur; a bit of skin, or colored 


126 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


feathers; for the offering is, in /effect, a proxy or 
representation of gifts and expresses the Indian’s 
desire to please his deities, and no matter how small 
the offering on the stick may be it contains the im- 
material self or spirit of offering. 

Any one may make and use such an offering stick, 
provided it is done with the appropriate ceremonies, 
but as a rule these offerings are made in order to 
cure sickness. When a medicine man or shaman is 
treating a patient it is customary for him to use 
these sticks in order to propitiate his particular fa- 
miliar or a chosen god. Often as many as twenty 
or thirty such offerings may be seen on a single altar 
outside a house where some one is ill. 

The altar is not, however, essential, and the sticks 
may be placed anywhere as long as the wand is up- 
right and the offering is at the top. Often the sha- 
man makes his offering secretly in a hidden place, 
or he may place it on the roof of a house or else- 
where; but the most efficient manner is to place it 
on an altar especially prepared with proper cere- 
monies. 

Similar to these are the Sioux invitation sticks. 
In fact the two kinds are often confused. But they 
are easily distinguishable, as the invitation wand 
lacks the bundle of offerings and has the upper end 
ornamented with quillwork or paint. 

Among some of the Central American tribes, simi- 
lar medicine sticks are used for exactly the same 
purposes, while others, consisting of sticks either 
plain or painted and with streamers of cloth, 


MEDICINES AND MEDICINE MEN 127 


feathers, or bits of string attached to the top, 
are placed upright near a house or village as a warn- 
ing to strangers to keep away. 

Among these tribes a peculiar form of medicine 
stick is used to safeguard a hut or a village or even 
an ill person from evil spirits. It consists of a peeled 
wand, either plain or painted, and varying in length 
from a few inches to several feet. The upper end is 
split, and a short piece of wood is inserted in the 
slit to form a sort of cross. Very often there are 
two slits at right angles and two crosswise pieces. “ 

These, however, have 110 connection with the Chris- 
tian cross, but seem to be more in the nature of the 
crossing of fingers to keep off witchcraft or the evil 
eye, a common custom of European peasantry. Or 
again, it may be more or less connected with these 
Indians’ belief that a devil or evil spirit is easily 
confused and fears to pass through or enter where | 
there is anything strange, mystical, or irregular. 

It is for this reason that nearly every South and 
Central American tribe, as well as many North 
American. tribes, invariably break or change the de- 
sign or pattern on anything they make. Oftentimes, 
a pattern or design composed of certain colors, as 
of red and blue, will have a small portion worked in 
green or white, or a symmetrical design may sud- 
denly change at some point and become irregular for 
a short distance. 

Another form of medicine widely used by our 
North American tribes, and especially by the plains 
Indians, is the medicine bundle. The medicine bun- 


128 THE AMERICAN INDIAN ||) 


dle may take any one of innumerable forms. It may 
be a true bundle containing all sorts of odds and 
ends, scalp locks, herbs, roots, teeth, gum and fur. 
It is considered particularly potent if it contains the 
bones or skull of a human being, especially those of 
some defunct medicine man or shaman. Among the 
contents of the medicine bundles of our plains In- 
dians there are usually several fossils known as 
‘*buffalo stones’? which the Indians believe attract 
or ‘‘call’’ the buffalos. Very often these are neatly 
covered with leather or hide, often highly decorated, 
but they always have a small hole or opening in the 
covering to enable the stone to ‘‘look out.’’ 

Often an Indian’s medicine bundle or bundles will 
become so voluminous and numerous that it becomes 
necessary to construct a special place in which to 
keep them. Such shrines or altars were quite com- 
mon with our western Indians and are quite elab- 
orate affairs. One of these from the Hidatsas, in 
the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Founda- 
tion, in New York, consists of a platform covered 
with medicine robes, highly decorated with feathers 
and beadwork, and has a great number of medicine 
bundles, medicine weapons, and odds and ends of 
mystical, symbolical and medicine objects scattered 
about on the platform and:upon the ground _ be- 
neath it. 

Often the medicine bundle consists of wearing 
apparel such as shirts, feather bonnets, moccasins, 
etc. These are particularly curious and interesting. 

Among many tribes, when a boy found himself ap- 


e 


MEDICINES’ AND MEDICINE MEN 129 


proaching manhood he made his way to the wildest 
and most isolated locality he could find and there 
fasted and prayed in the hope that the spirits would 
take pity and allow him to have a vision in which he 
would see his own guardian spirit who would be with 
him throughout life. In his weak and highly nervous 
state he would be likely to have a dream or vision in 
which he would see some animal or some being per- 
sonifying some element or power, such as the sun, 
thunder, four winds, or lightning. Often in his 
vision, the supernatural being would appear to in- 
struct the youth to prepare a medicine bundle com- 
posed of various objects, each of which had its sym- 
bolic meaning and would bring him or his people 
good fortune, success in wars and hunting, ete. Fre- 
quently the exact meaning of the bundle or its con- 
tents would be known only to the owner who would 
interpret or ‘‘read’’ the bundle when occasions 
arose. | 

As an example of the contents of such a bundle 
we may take a war bundle of the southern Sioux 
which contains amulets, medicines, and musical in- 
struments. The amulets, fastened to the warrior’s 
_ body in battle, are parts of fierce, swift, or strong 
creatures whose qualities or characters are suppos- 
edly transmitted to the wearer. Thus a bison’s tail 
imparted strength, a hawk’s skin fierceness, a stuffed 
swallow swiftness, ete. A miniature war club was 
symbolic of lightning and the power of the thunder 
gods and a stone ball symbolized thunder’s awful 
destruction. A decorated rope or thong was sup- 
posed to bring success in taking prisoners, and a 


130 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


small human figure of deerskin represented an enemy 
in the power of the bundle owner. In addition to 
these, the bundle contains true medicines to be 
chewed and rubbed on the body for the purpose of 
turning aside weapons, other medicines for healing 
wounds, and still others to protect the owner from 
any evil effects of his own magic. 

In addition to such war medicine bundles there 
were the medicine bundles of the shamen, the medi- 
cine bundles for tattooing (a sacred rite among 
some tribes), bundles for good luck in love, hunting 
bundles, gambling bundles, bundles to insure suc- 
cess in horse-breeding and in trading, ete. 

An excellent example of how a medicine bundle 
originates is the following account of a pair of medi- 
cine moccasins of the Crow Indians, which are now 
in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foun- 
dation. This bundle, which was obtained in 1921, 
belonged at that time to Gray Bull; but the original 
owner and maker was Sees-the-Living-Bull, who was 
one of the most famous of the River Crow medicine 
men and who died in 1896 at the approximate age of 
ninety-eight years. 3 

According to the family tradition, Sees-the-Living- 
Bull fasted four times, each time for four days, on 
the top of a high mountain in the Beartooth Range 
of Montana. Towards morning of the fifth day of 
his last fast, he was rewarded with a vision in which 
he saw the morning star change slowly into a man 
who stood on the edge of the horizon. Presently this 
being walked towards the-Indian, and after each step — 
a fire appeared in his footprint. When at last the 


MEDICINES AND MEDICINE MEN 131 


visionary being stood close to Sees-the-Living-Bull, 
he spoke as follows: 


‘“‘T have come carrying a message from Bird- 
Going-Up, he is coming to see you.”’ 


Sees-the-Living-Bull now noticed that the vision 
wore odd moccasins. On his left foot the moccasin 
top was made of the skin from a silver-fox head, 
and on his right foot the moccasin top was made of 
the skin of a coyote head. Both skins had the ears 
left on. Around the edge of each moccasin sole were 
scalp locks with quill wrapping. The heel of the 
right moccasin was painted black and the heel of 
the left one red. 

Suddenly the Indian heard a coyote howling, and 
on looking around found that the sounds came from 
the vision’s right moccasin. Then he heard a fox 
bark and noticed that the sound came from the left 
moccasin, and that flames came from the fox-skin’s 
mouth. The vision wore a scalp lock shirt and deer- 
skin leggings fringed with many colored horsehair. 
On his face was painted a broad red circle inter- 
sected by two smaller red circles. 

Then the visionary being began to sing and taught 
Sees-the-Living-Bull seven verses, as follows: 


The bird is saying this, and wherever we are, nothing 
may be in our way. 

The bird is gone; I will let him come and watch over 
you. 

I am letting him stay, I am letting him stay. 

I am going toward human beings, and they are weak. 


132 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


The bird from heaven has sympathy toward him. 
Whenever I am going, I say this: I am the bird in 
this world. 


My child, I am living among the clouds and there as 


nothing impossible to me. 


After Sees-the-Living-Bull had learned these 
verses he was told never to go on the warpath in a 
westerly direction as it would be unlucky, and never 


after would Sees-the-Living-Bull attack the Flat-. 


heads, the Shoshones, or the Arapahoes. 

Having received these instructions, Sees-the-Liv- 
ing-Bull felt a sudden wind which caught his blanket 
and blew it away. As he looked after it, the vision 
ended and the being vanished. 

Then, as the sun rose, the Indian returned to his 
village and made the medicine bundle with the magic 
moccasins. These were always kept outside his tent, 
except when used for ceremonial purposes, ‘when 
they were carried in around the left side of the tepee 
and out again by the right side. 

According to the Indians, this medicine Proved 
very potent in locating enemies and in guarding 


Sees-the-Living-Bull from harm when on the war- 


path, and until his death, he always wore the mocca- 
sins at ceremonials, after first smudging them in 
pine-needle smoke. 


Many other medicine bundles have equally inter- — 


esting stories, but space does not permit of repeat- 
ing them. 


All such medicine bundles of our North American : 
Indians are similar in use and purpose to the beena ~ 


a a es 


MEDICINES AND MEDICINE MEN § 133 


or charm bundles of the South American tribes. 
These contain all sorts of odds and ends, particu- 
larly human teeth, hair, and nail clippings, and are 
most carefully guarded. Both men and women have 
them, and no member of either sex is supposed ever 
to touch, see, or even to know of the contents of the 
bundles belonging to the opposite sex. 

Medicine weapons, shields, and implements are 
also common among nearly all tribes. These are 
supposed either to protect the owner or to have 
magical powers to destroy enemies. So absolute is 
the Indian’s faith in such things that he will go to 
battle armed with a tiny, wholly inadequate medi- 
cine shield or clad in a medicine garment in full con- 
fidence that it will turn aside arrows, spears, and 
even bullets. And, as a matter of fact, his belief is 
often confirmed, not because the medicine shield or 
garment possesses any magic power but because his 
enemies, who have an equal faith in the potency of 
medicine articles, recognize the magie articles and 
fear to attack the owner. 

In the case of wars with white men who are no 
respecters of the Indian’s medicine, if a bullet pene- 
trates the shield or garment or kills the owner, or if 
a medicine weapon fails to destroy the enemy, the 
Indian does not lose faith in his magic. Invariably, 
in such cases, he blames himself and feels positive 
that somewhere or somehow he failed to fulfill all 
the essential rites or offerings necessary to give his 
articles their proper medicine value. 

Many Indians also possess or use medicine ob- 
jects or apparel which are supposed to render the 


134 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


wearer or user unrecognizable. Such an object is the 
buffalo sash of our plains tribes. This is made of 
wisps of buffalo hair and, when worn by the leader 
of a party, is supposed to make the entire war party 
look like buffaloes in the eyes of the enemy. 

Another form of medicine was believed to render 
the user or wearer invisible. Among many South 
American tribes, black feathers are supposed to pos- 
sess this power. Hence the Kenaima or blood- 
avenger, when starting on his mission of vengeance, 
wears a mantle or cape of black feathers. When 
hunting game or when attacking an enemy, these 
Indians paint themselves black and wear black 
feathers, and in order that their arrows may not be 
seen by the creatures they hunt, they are feathered 
with black feathers. In other words, black is sym- 
bolical of night and has a mystical or medicine 
power. If treated by a peaiman or medicine man, or 
if combined with other charms, the potency of black 
is vastly increased. 


CHAPTER VIII 
DANCES AND CEREMONIALS 


S is the case with all primitive people, and most 
civilized people as well, the Indians are ex- 
tremely fond of dances, ceremonials, and anything 
of a pompous, spectacular, or theatrical nature. 
And, as among all primitive people, the Indians’ 
dances are symbolic or are of mystical or ceremoni- 
ous significance. For that matter, all our own dances 
were originally mystical or symbolic, although we 
seldom stop to realize the fact. Just as civilized 
races have quite forgotten the original significance 
or purpose of many dances, and follow the steps and 
evolutions merely for pleasure, so the Indians often 
dance for recreation and cannot or will not explain 
how such dances originated or what they mean. 
But there is a great difference between Indian 
dances and Indian ceremonials, although often the 
two are combined and dances form portions of cere- 
monies and vice versa. Ordinarily, when we think 
of an Indian dance, we visualize a war dance of our 
North American Indians in which a number of the 
men, attired in all the panoply of war, with painted 
faces and feather war bonnets, prance around and 
around a fire, beating their chests, uttering savage 


shouts, and waving their weapons to the accompani- 
135 


136 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


ment of a tom-tom. This conventional war dance, 
which nowadays is usually performed especially for 
the benefit of tourists and motion-picture cameras, 
and is more in the nature of a side show than an 
actual ceremonial, is by no means the only or the 
most typical dance of our North American tribes. 
Indeed, many tribes never danced a war dance in 
this fashion, unless. paid to do so in some palapt- 
medicine oe or Wild West exhibition. 

True war dances are merely one portion of és 
ceremonial by which the Indians who participate 
in it believe they acquire courage, spiritual assist- 
ance and protection, and, in the case of some tribes, 
a state of invisibility as far as their enemies are 
concerned, In other words, through the medium of 
the dance and the ah anne the Indians ‘‘make 
medicine’’ to insure their own success and their foes’ 
defeat in the coming battle. 

The ceremonial is, in fact, very similar in purpose 
to the Christian custom of offering prayers or say- 
ing a Mass before going to war, and is probably just 
as efficacious. In either case, faith in the ceremonies 
unquestionably fortifies the warriors and inspires 
them with unusual courage. In both cases, the pros- 
pective fighters quite forget that their enemies are 
also ‘‘making medicine’’ or praying for supernat- 
ural aid and success, and that neither a Christian 
God nor a pagan deity could possibly see to it that 
both sides win. 

Of the two, perhaps the Indian is more likely to 
benefit by his pre-war ceremonies than the white 
man. Not only has he more faith in his own efforts. 


lopenay jizeig ‘selereg vuvinyy YSIyig “VloMVyy 
‘OLBATL? ‘oouvd Ysty ‘oUINJSOD) BABSBIB 
SNVIGN] NVOIWANY HLO0S ‘SHNOLSOD FONVG 


L0yinn ayy fia sydvuhojzoyd pun ‘Uounpunoy ahay ‘unwpuy unoiwawy ay} fo wnasny 


from paintings from life by the author 


Kukwa Dance, CocLk INDIANS oF PANAMA 


es mee 


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DANCES AND CEREMONIALS 137 


to win the favor of his guardian spirits, but he also 
has far more faith in his deities than the average 
Christian has in his God. In the case of the white 
man, doubt begins to enter his mind if his prayers 


fail to beget the desired results; but the Indian, when 


his medicine fails, does not blame his spirits but 
reasons that, for one reason or another, his own 
efforts were insufficient and did not please the de- 
ities. 

Moreover, the white soldier, kneeling in a church, 
or listening to prayers while standing silently at at- 
tention, has neither the opportunity nor the inclina- 
tion to work himself into a state of frenzied hate, a 
blind fury, and a disregard for his own fate. But 
the Indian, ever a fatalist, attains through the mys- 
tical ceremonies, the chanting, the dance, and all the 
savage accompaniments, a semihypnotic state bor- 
dering almost on temporary insanity, and a blind, 
unreasoning ferocity which, combined with his utter 
disregard of death, often brings him victorious 
through the most desperate encounters. Naturally, 
being unable to realize that it is his own mental proc- 
esses which have accomplished the desired results, 
the Indian attributes it to the strong and powerful 
magic of his medicine men and the direct action of 
the deities or spirits he has pleased. 

In addition to all this, the Indian, with his love of 
the dramatic, the spectacular, and the theatrical, 
finds the most intense pleasure and gratification in 
showing off before his women and his fellow men. 
He mimics the action of the fight, he chants a war 
song consisting of boasts of what he has done and 


138 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


what he intends to do, and he strives to impress his — 
audience with his bravery, his prowess, and his im- — 
portance. By some psychological process rather — 
difficult for a white man to understand, the Indian ~ 
believes that the war dance and ceremonial, if suf- 
ficiently impressive and vociferous, will frighten his 
enemies and aid in their conquest, even though they 
may be far away at the time. q 

This idea of putting fear in the hearts of an ab- — 
sent enemy, who may have no idea of what is taking 
place, is prevalent among Indian tribes. And it is — 
by no means confined to Indians. Many a Christian — 
believes in the efficacy of ‘‘putting a candle’’ on an 
enemy or ‘‘putting a curse’’ on some one whom it 
is desired to injure. Among primitive races, in- 
numerable means are employed for the same pur- 
pose. 

The more terrifying and horrible the Indians can 
make themselves, and the more threatening and 
blood curdling they can make the dance and ceremo- — 
nial the more, they reason, will their enemies be ~ 
dismayed over the impending war. Even when it — 
comes to actual fighting, the Indians have great faith 
in the power of their make-up and endeavor to 
frighten their foes by their appearance. | 

In other dances and ceremonials the Indians aim 
to prove their endurance, their fortitude, and their 
ability to withstand pain. Such dances and ceremo- 
nials usually embody tortures, often self-inflicted 
and of the most terrible kinds, which the youths must — 
endure without flinching. The ceremonials may be — 


either for the purpose of proving the man’s bravery — 


DANCES AND CEREMONIALS 139 


or may serve as tests of the young men’s fitness to 
become full-fledged warriors. 

By far the greatest number of dances and ceremo- 
nials, both of the North, Central, and South Amer- 
ican tribes, has to do with peaceful matters, such as 
crops, planting, rains, fishing, hunting, harvesting, 
thanksgivings, etc. Many of these ceremonials are 
common, with variations, to widely separated tribes. 
Thus the planting, rain, and harvesting ceremonials 
take place at the proper seasons in North, South, 
and Central America, even though the planting, har- 
vesting, and rainy seasons are at totally different 
times of the year in these various localities. 

In nearly every case, there are certain features of 
these ceremonials which are strikingly similar. But 
the resemblances are not surprising when we stop 
to consider that such ceremonials are of the most 
ancient origin and may be traced back to the very 
earliest. of our own ancestors. Many of our feasts, 
dances, and holidays are really survivals of such 
ceremonials, and our May Day exercises and May- 
pole dances are merely altered forms of the ancient, 
heathen, spring ceremonial. 

Among the Indians of both North and South 
America the seasonal dances and ceremonials are 
numerous and varied. To this class belong the corn 
dances of many tribes, the rain dances of the 
Pueblos, the snake dance of the Hopis, ete. 

Among the Algonquin tribes of the eastern states, 
such as the Shawnees and Delawares, a great cere- 
monial was held each autumn. A specially con- 
structed ‘‘great house’’ was built and here the peo- 


140 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


ple gathered to give thanks to the Great Spirit and 
other deities and spirits for the blessings the In- 
dians had received during the past year, to pray for 
renewal of favors, and to recount the visions of 
power seen by the youths. In these dances, masks 
and skins were used, a bearskin representing a 
woodland spirit supposed to be the guardian of wild 
game and animals. During the ceremony, special 
drums of unusual form were used, together with 
turtle-shell rattles. A ‘‘new fire’? symbolic of a 
fresh start in life and affairs was kindled by means 
of a large ceremonial pump drill. 

The similarity between this Algonquin ceremony 
and our’ own Thanksgiving Day celebrations is at 
once obvious. As a matter of fact, our Puritan 
ancestors copied the Indian ceremonial, even to 
using the Indian foods, and selected the Indian date 
for the ceremony when they held their first Thanks- 
giving. So, quite unconsciously, we are following 
an Indian custom and are perpetuating the Algon- 
quin ceremonial when, each year, we feast and 
gather together to show our gratitude for a plentiful 
and fortunate year. 

Other thanksgiving ceremonials are held after 
hunts, battles, or any other occasions for rejoicing. 
To this thanksgiving class belongs the sun dance 
of the Poncas and other western tribes. This dance 
is not actually so much in the nature of a thanks- 
giving as a fulfillment of vows. The self-inflicted 
tortures, such as hanging suspended from a thong 
fastened to a skewer run through the chest muscles, 
are all the fulfillment of pledges made by the In- 


DANCES AND CEREMONIALS 141 


dians to their deities in return for benefits derived 
during the past year. They are the Indians’ equiva- 
lents for the Christian custom of doing penance, 
making presents, or undergoing hardships, fasts, 
or other forms of abnegation in return for divine 
favors desired. 

Oftentimes the process was reversed, and the 
Indians, instead of making vows or promises which 
were later fulfilled if they received the desired fa- 
vors, went through their dances, ceremonials, and 
attendant rites beforehand. Thus were performed 
the war dances, and especially the buffalo dance 
which, in the days when bison roamed the plains, 
was held to placate the spirits of the animals the 
Indians were about to kill, to insure plenty of buf- 
falo, and to bring success to the hunters. 

In this category is the Peote ceremony of some of 
our southwestern tribes. This ceremony, which is 
held before going on a hunt, is semireligious and is 
filled with rituals. It all revolves about the chewing 
or eating of the ‘‘button’’ of a cactus, which is 
slightly narcotic and which the Indians consider a 
mystic thing. The Peote ceremony is not, however, 
truly North American but was introduced from 
Mexico where the ceremony is quite distinct. 

Of a very different type are the dances and cere- 
monials which are held for the purpose of exorcising 
evil spirits. These so-called devil dances are com- 
mon to nearly all tribes and, although varying in 
details, they are much alike in purpose and general 
features. During these dances the participants 


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MASKS, CEREMONIAL OBJECTS, ETO. 


. False Face Mask, Tuscarora Indians 
. False Face Mask, Seneca Indians 

. False Face Mask, Iroquois Indians 

. False Face Mask, Seneca Indians 

. False Face Mask, Tuscarora Indians 
. False Face Mask, Tuscarora Indians 


Mask of Corn Husk, Tuscarora Indians 


. Mask of Gourds, Hopi Indians 

. Mask of Wood and Feathers, Zufii Indians 

. Mask of Cotton Cloth, “Mud Heads,” Zufi Indians 
. Mask of Skin, Painted, Zufii Indians 

. Mask of Skin, Painted, Zufii Indians 

. Mask of Skin, Painted, Hopi Indians 

. Headdress of Wood and Feathers, Zuiii Indians 
. Headdress of Wood, Pueblo Indians 

. Mask, Nishka Indians, Alaska 

. Mask, Yaqui Indians, Mexico 

. Mask, Guatemala 

. Mask, Guatemala 

. Mask, Salvador 

. Mask of Opossum Skin, Salvador 

. Mask, Devil Dancers, Aimara Indians, Bolivia 
. Mask, Mapuche Indians, Chile 

. Headdress, Wood, Apache Devil Dance 

. Headdress, Wood, Apache Devil Dance 

. Scalp Lock, Crow Indians 

. Offering Sticks, Oglala Sioux 

. Prayer Sticks, Zufii Indians 

. Prayer Sticks, Hopi Indians 


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144 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


usually don grotesque and hideous masks, partly to 
prevent the devils from recognizing the wearers, 
but largely to frighten the demons. And it would 
be a most bold and persistent sort of devil who 
would not be scared out of his demoniacal wits by 
the horrible and berrifying appearance of the 
masked dancers. 

These devil dances are among the most persis- 
tent of Indian ceremonials, and even when tribes 
have become so civilized as to abandon all other 
primitive customs they still keep up their traditional 
devil-exorcising practices. 

Among the Tuscaroras of New York State, who 
are highly civilized, modern, and up to date, and 
who live exactly as do their white neighbors, the 
annual ‘‘falseface’’? ceremonies are still held, as 
they were formerly held by all the Iroquois tribes. 
This ceremony, which has for its purpose the exor- 
cising of evil spirits and the driving away of disease, 
is carried out by a secret society known as the 
Falseface Company. The members don grotesque 
and often hideous masks of wood which are intended 
to represent the faces of a race of woodland gob- 
lins or sprites who were supposed to possess the 
power of expelling disease. During the time that 
the Indians represent the spirits, the masked par- 
ticipants do not hesitate to plunge their bare hands 
into fire and to pick up and handle live coals and 
hot ashes, while others of the fraternity dance about, 


thumping their drums and shaking their huge turtle- — 


shell rattles. 


At the appointed time each year, these Indians 


DANCES AND CEREMONIALS 145 


don their weird masks, and prancing and dancing, 
rush about, driving off any lurking devils and dis- 
eases from persons and houses of the community. 
It is a strange and remarkable sight to witness these 
educated, prosperous farmers and tradesmen, 
dressed in conventional clothes and wearing their 
horrible masks, rushing about and, temporarily, 
showing themselves once more the thorough Indians 
of pre-Columbian days. 

The late Mr. Alanson Skinner, who witnessed 
many of these falseface ceremonies, described how, 
on one occasion, he was visiting the home of an 
Indian woman whose daughter was a thoroughly 
up-to-date, typically American girl of the ultra 
‘flapper’? type. Suddenly, shouts and the shaking 
of rattles were heard, the door was burst open, and 
into the modernly appointed room rushed a number 
of the ‘‘falsefaces.’? Prancing about, shouting, 
and chanting, the dancers went through the rites of 
driving out devils, and then, turning to the bobbed- 
haired, short-skirted, rouged-lipped daughter of the 
house, they proceeded, quite as a matter of course, 
to go through the ceremony of driving devils from 
her. Unfortunately Mr. Skinner neglected to state 
whether the young lady was improved by the eradi- 
cation of her personal demons. But it might not 
be a bad plan to try similar methods on many of 
our paleface flappers who show every symptom of 
being possessed of devils. 3 

These are but a few of the many types of North 
American ceremonial dances which are so numerous 
that to describe or even mention all would require 


146 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


far more space than is possible in a work of this 


character. 


Among the Central and South American Indians | 


we find very different dances and ceremonials, 


although many are prototypes of those of the 


North American tribes, and some are strikingly sim- 
ilar in many of their features, details, and costumes. 
The devil dances are conspicuous. Possibly demons 
are partial to tropical lands and find it easier and 
more profitable to find abiding places among the 


natives of South and Central America than in the — 


persons of the North American Indians, or perhaps 
they are more difficult to dislodge. At any rate, 
devil dances are far more numerous and universal 
among the aborigines of these countries than in 
North America, and are conducted with more cere- 
monies and more drastic methods. 

It is also interesting to note that, in many cases, 
the Indians have timed their demon-driving cere- 
monies to accord with church feasts, probably be- 
lieving that by combining their own efforts with the 


holyday the devils will have no chance. Typical of — 


such dances is the Kukwa dance of the Coclé Indians 
of Panama, which is held on Corpus Christi Day. 
In this dance the Indians, who at all other times 
are industrious, civilized beings, wear weird cos- 
tumes made of the kukwa-tree bark gayly painted in 


various colors in which Indian patterns, symbolic — 


designs, crosses, and other ecclesiastical figures are 


strangely combined. Covering their heads, the In- — 
dians wear remarkable and grotesque masks com- — 


posed of basketry frames to which are attached the 


DANCES AND CEREMONIALS 147 


jaws and teeth of wild animals and deer or cows’ 
horns, the whole covered with jaguar skin or kukwa- 
bark cloth which terminates in a long flap or tail 
hanging down the wearer’s back. Armed with long- 
lashed whips and rattles, the dancers rush madly 
here and there, shouting and singing, leaping in air, 
and lashing everything and every one within reach 
of the whips in their efforts to flagellate and 
frighten the invisible devils. 

Similar in many ways are the corresponding devil 
dances of the Andean tribes, which are also held on 
holydays of the Catholic Church. Here the Aimaras 
and Quichuas of Peru and Bolivia array themselves 
in elaborate, bizarre, and often gorgeous costumes 
heavy with silver bullion and embroidery, and don 
most weird and grotesque masks designed to rep- 
resent demons, but outdoing the devils in their hor- 
rible distorted faces. Thus arrayed, and armed, 
like the kukwa dancers, with whips and rattles, the 
Andean devil dancers lash everything within reach, 
including one another, in their frenzied clean-up of 
the year’s crop of devils. 

Across the Andes, in the jungle districts of the 
Amazon and Guiana, we find devil dances of a far 
different and less strenuous type which combine the 
placating of good spirits with the exorcising of evil 
spirits. Such is the Parasara dance of the Caribs 
and related tribes which, with minor variations, is 
common to many tribes of the district. As in many 
other Indian ceremonials, the participants in this 
dance strive to render themselves unrecognizable 
by wearing costumes of palm-leaf strips which 


148 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


cover them from head to foot and give them the © 
appearance of animated haystacks. Instead of — 
whips, the parasara dancers use drums and fifes, © 
for the first stage of the dance is designed to please — 
the good spirits and to lull the evil ones into un- © 
suspecting helplessness. ’ 

Having gone through the ceremony, with its ac- — 
companying feasting, drinking, offerings, chants, 7 
and music, the dancers remove their costumes and | 
hang them on stumps in their fields and on snags in © 
the streams, the idea being that the costumes, having ] 
become purged of all evil spirits and made sacred — 
by the ceremonies, will serve as talismans or charms 
and will prevent any devils from injuring the crops 
or causing disasters to voyagers on the rivers. ! 

Although war dances, as known to the North ~ 
American tribes, do not exist among the South — 
American Indians, with the exception of the Pampas — 
tribes of Chile and Argentine, ceremonials and — 
dances which are symbolic of battle are common. } 
Such is the Maiquarry dance of the Arowaks in which ~ 
the dancers are armed with cat-o’-nine-tail-like whips — 
of braided bark and huge palm-wood shields. Ar- — 
rayed in fighting costumes and painted, the Indians ~ 
vo through the evolutions of a mimic battle, beating — 
one another so unmercifully that the blood flows — 
from welts and cuts, clashing their shields together, — 
and carrying on until they drop exhausted from — 
loss of blood and utter fatigue. Here there is also 
the element of endurance and fortitude, and the 
ceremonial is a combination of a war dance and a 


DANCES AND CEREMONIALS 149 


test of personal fortitude and strength to prove the 
dancers’ fitness to become warriors. 

Very similar in its purpose and significance is the 
balsa dance or stick dance of the Guaymis and 
Boorabbis of Panama. In this the dancers array 
themselves in full regalia of feathers, beads, teeth 
and scalp-lock ornaments and paint their faces with 
symbolic designs. Hach dancer wears the stuffed 
skin of an animal strapped to his back, an essential 
‘detail, for the stick dance is a most strenuous affair 
which makes college football seem tame by com- 
parison. 

A number of the dancers carry drums, cow-horn 
trumpets, fifes, rattles, and whistles, while others 
are armed with stout, sharp-pointed wooden staffs 
six or seven feet in length and several inches in 
diameter. As the music strikes up, a man com- 
mences to dance and leap about while his partner, 
also leaping about, poises his staff, and, awaiting 
an opportune moment, hurls it at the dancer. The 
object is to knock the dancing man over, preferably 
by striking his legs. This is by no means as easy 
as it seems, for the Indians have become marvel- 
ously expert at dodging the hurtling missile. If the 
dancer succeeds in dodging the blow he has the 
privilege of throwing the stick at the other fellow, 
whereas, if he is struck or bowled over, he must 
continue to serve as a target until he manages to 
dodge the staff successfully. 

Needless to say, with twenty to a hundred Indians 
taking part in this ceremony, all frenzied with ex- 
citement and with scores of the pointed staffs hurt- 


150 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


ling about in the crowd, casualties are numerous 
and the dance is no place for a weakling. But while 
bruised, cut, and broken limbs are all a part of the 
festivities, serious injuries are rare, for the stuffed 
skin on the dancer’s back protects the spine and 
other vulnerable parts of the body from severe 
blows. 

Although the stick dance is nowadays more in the 
nature of a recreation or game than a ceremonial 
affair, yet it is always a part of these Indians’ re- 
higious and other ceremonials. It is also held as a 
contest of skill and endurance between members 
of different villages which have their champions 
and experts who go from place to place che seee 
others. 

Unquestionably the stick dance was originally in 
the nature of a war dance, the sticks representing 
throwing spears; and in old Spanish writings we 
find mention of the dance being held before bat- 
tles. But it also has the elements of the manhood- 
test type of ceremonial and is most interestingly 
reminiscent of the ancient jousts or tournaments 
of the European knights. 

Corresponding to buffalo and similar dances of 
the North American tribes, we find various animal 
dances among the South American Indians. The 
Akawoias and other tribes are particularly fond 
of such ceremonials and hold them at frequent inter- 
vals. They have none of the sanguinary or painful 
features of war or endurance dances but are joyous 
and hilarious affairs, often highly ludicrous. 

In the Akawoia dance, the participants are ar-- 


DANCES AND CEREMONIALS 151 


rayed in their most magnificent feather crowns, 
their gaudy feather bobs, their most elaborate neck- 
laces of teeth, and their finest beadwork, for in 
this dance the participants desire to be seen, recog- 
nized, and admired, instead of wishing to hide their 
identities by means of disguises. Fach dancer se- 
lects some particular bird, quadruped, or other 
animal, which may or may not be his clan totem. 
He carries a long trumpet or flute decorated with 
paint and tufts of feathers and dyed fibers. To 
the end of this is fastened a roughly carved wooden 
figure of the creature the dancer represents. 

To the music of drums, rattles, and fifes, and the 
incantations of the peaiman or medicine man, the 
dancers prance around and around, each blowing 
lustily on his trumpet and striving to imitate, in 
actions and cries, the creature he has chosen. Those 
who represent such things as birds, jaguars, 
monkeys, ete., have an easy time of it; but the 
dancers who have selected turtles, armadillos, or 
lizards find it hard enough and cause endless amuse- 
ment and uproarous hilarity on the part of the audi- 
ence. Imagine, if you can, a feather-bedecked, 
painted Indian dancer writhing or crawling about 
the ground as he mimics the movements of a snake 
or lizard, or trying to produce a sound in imitation 
of a turtle or an armadillo. 

The object of the dance is, of course, to placate 
the spirits of the various birds and beasts the In- 
dians must destroy, to insure success in hunting, 
and to provide for an abundance of game. And 


152 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


here the proxy idea, which I have mentioned in a 
previous chapter, comes into play. 

Quite distinct from any of the ceremonials men- 
tioned are the religious dances of the Indians, an 
excellent example of which is the ghost dance of | 
the North American Sioux and other tribes. Some- 
times these are held to speed departing spirits on 
their way; at other times they are connected with — 
marriage ceremonies; and at other times they are a — 
propitiation to the gods and spirits, or are in the © 
nature of prayers, or are similar in purpose to our ~ 
revivals. 

These are all sacred or holy affairs and are usu- © 
ally zealously guarded by the Indians who seldom 
permit an outsider to witness the ceremonies. As 
examples of such dances, I may mention the Wahnoo © 
dance of the Caribs, which is held after the death 
of a member of the tribe, and the ceremonial dance 
which I have described in connection with the Guay- 
mis in Chapter V. In many cases these ceremonials — 


ri 
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are considered so sacred that even the common or 
nonelect members of the tribe are barred out. j 

Many tribes will not permit any women to witness 
the ceremonies under pain of death. Such is the 1 
case with the Jurapari dance of the Amazon forest — 
Indians. This is, in a way, in the nature of a har-— 
vest dance. It is so sacred and secret that the 
musical instruments used during the ceremonies 
are kept hidden from human sight in the rivers until 
used, and immediately thereafter are again buried 
under the waters. Moreover, as each of these huge © 
Panpipes is supposed to represent a spirit, rts name 


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DANCES AND CEREMONIALS 153 


must never be uttered. During the ceremonies all 
women are driven away to a secluded, distant spot 
in the forest and are there placed under guard. 
Evidently the Indians are well aware of the extent 
of woman’s curiosity and know that even the pen- 
alty of death will not always prevent a woman from 
playing the Peeping Tom. 

I have already stated that some Indian dances 
were largely if not wholly of a recreational nature, 
although undoubtedly at one time they had their 
symbolic purpose or their significance. Among such 
may be classed the curious and interesting Bimite 
of several jungle tribes of South America, which 
always follows the Parasara or some other cere- 
monial as a sort of grand finale. In the Bimiti, a 
large trough of paiwarrie liquor plays an important 
part. At some distance from this the participants 
line up, a double row of women and onlookers 
forming a lane to the trough of liquor. At a given 
signal the men dash forward, each striving to reach 
the trough first. The winner has the somewhat 
doubtful privilege of bathing in the liquor and 
drinking his fill before the others are served. 

As the runners dash down the human lane, women 
and girls shout encouragement to their favorites 
and throw red pepper into the faces of the others. 
As a result every contestant is sneezing and half 
blinded and all stumble, trip, and roll in a confused 
mass, often tumbling together into the trough of 
paiwarrie. 

Then follows a wild, hilarious orgy in which men, 
women, and children dance and drink in turn. When 


154 THE AMERICAN INDIAN | 


at last the trough is drained dry all sink exhausted 


and befuddled with liquor. 


Frequently, especially in the past, quarrels nuit ‘ 
fights started in which some half-drunken Indian © 


would kill another. This resulted in the Kenaima — 
or blood avenger, and brought in its wake numerous © 


family and tribal feuds, until at times entire tribes 
were wiped out of existence. 


The Bimiti is in reality more of a feast than a — 
ceremonial, but it is not an out and out feast like ~ 
the Potlach of our northwestern tribes or the Shaw- — 
nee dog feast, which have no true coremontit sig- 


nificance. 


Just as we usually see fit to celebrate any event, — 
from a marriage to a death, by a banquet, so the © 
Indians usually drink and feast as a part of their — 
ceremonials, though drinking and feasting are not — 


always basGaniale: 


Often, the beverages and viands used at cere- — 
monials are made or prepared, or even grown, espe- — 
cially for the purpose. The same is true of weapons, — 
utensils, implements, costumes, pipes, and even — 
facial and body painting and tattooing. Frequently — 


all such things are destroyed at the close of the 


ceremonies or are sacrificed or killed to prevent evil — 


spirits from taking possession of them. 


At other times and among other tribes, ordinary, ; 
everyday articles may be made ceremonial by cer- — 
tain formalities, which are akin to blessing them, or — 


by marking them with ceremonial pigments. Thus 


the Caribs paint all utensils white when they are © 
to be used in ceremonies; the Guaymis daub black — 


DANCES AND CEREMONIALS 155 


on articles for ceremonial use; and the San Blas 
and many North American tribes use red. Other 
tribes attach certain supposedly magical or mysti- 
cal objects to everything they use in their cere- 
monies. 

No white man, and probably no one Indian, has a 
knowledge of all the ins and outs of Indian cere- 
monials. Often the true significance of the affairs 
and of the objects used is known only to the medi- 
cine men of the tribe. 

Just as we Christians go to church and follow 
the rituals without actually knowing the significance 
and meaning of what we do, and obey the prescribed 
customs as laid down by the ministers or priests, so 
the Indians take part in their ceremonies as their 
ancestors have done for ages. 

Often the exact use to which certain objects are 
put is mere guesswork on the part of outsiders. 
This is particularly true of prehistoric objects. It 
has, indeed, become the custom for ethnologists and 
archeologists to class everything which puzzles 
them and whose use cannot be definitely established 
as ceremonial. This, after all, is as good a classi- 
fication as any, for practically every article used 
by Indians has, in one way or another, its ceremo- 
nial use or significance. 


CHAPTER IX 
INDUSTRIES AND ARTS 


E seldom think of Indians in connection with 

industries or manufactures. Nevertheless 
there are many important Indian industries and 
many of their products are of great value to civiliza- 
tion and are in constant demand. 

All Indians are clever artisans and wonderful 
imitators. They possess almost microscopic eye- 
sight, a delicate touch, and a wonderful sense of 
color and form. Unlike the African who delights — 
in the gaudiest and most clashing color combina- 
tions, the American Indian prefers subdued and soft — 
tones set off and accentuated by bits of brilliant — 
hues, the whole harmoniously combined. 

In the old days, as among the more remote and ~ 
primitive tribes to-day, the Indians made their own ~ 
dyes and pigments from vegetable and mineral — 
sources, and their colors were delightfully soft and 
very permanent. But those tribes in touch with civi- — 
lization have found aniline dyes cheaper and more > 
convenient than their own products. As a result, — 
their art has suffered, and modern Indian work is — 
much inferior to that of the past. | 

Indian beadwork is world famous. It is truly 


remarkable how all the tribes from the Arctic circle 
156 


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INDUSTRIES AND ARTS 157 


to Tierra del Fuego and from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific have adopted the glass beads of the white 
man and have become experts in their use. Even 
the most remote and little-known Indians, who have 
never been in contact with civilization and have 
never seen white men, possess beads and produce 
excellent and artistic beadwork. 

Beadwork is an art that has been developed and 
carried to perfection all within three or four cen- 
turies. But we must remember that, ages before 
the Kuropeans visited America, the Indians used 
many articles which served as beads. The glass 
beads, therefore, came to them almost as familiar 
things. Seeds, nuts, beans, teeth, claws, bones, 
shells, crabs’ eyes, lizard and fish scales, and scores 
of other objects were and are still used by Indians 
as decorations. Often these articles were wrought 
into most elaborate and intricate patterns and de- 
signs such as belts, fillets, and other articles of 
apparel and adornment. 

Moreover, long before they had ever seen glass 
beads of European manufacture, the Indians had 
learned to make beads of their own. Various ma- 
terials were used for this purpose. Some were made 
of clay or porcelain, modeled, engraved, or painted; 
others were cut from stone. Beads of agate, car- 
nelian, quartz crystal, amethyst, topaz, beryl, and 
garnet were formed by laboriously chipping the 
extremely hard stones into shape, polishing them, 
and perforating them with the crudest of tools. 
Many of these were examples of the highest degree 
of workmanship, and among some tribes the bead- 


158 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


makers were expert lapidaries and established veri- 
table gem centers. 

This was the case with the little island of Mont- 
serrat in the West Indies where, in fields and an- 
cient Indian kitchen middens, vast numbers of beads 
and ornaments of precious and semiprecious stones 
have been found, in every stage from the rough 
stones to the beautifully finished products. As none 
of these varieties of minerals occurs naturally on 
Montserrat, it is evident that the island must have 
been noted far and wide for its gem-cutters. In- 
dians undoubtedly traveled from far distant spots 
to trade their wares for the Montserrat beads, 
probably also bringing the rough stones from their 
own lands. In other words, Montserrat was to the 
Indians what Holland has been to the white man, 
a spot widely renowned for its lapidaries. 

Many of the cut-stone objects found in Montserrat 
are truly amazing examples of Indian art and in- 
dustry, and could not be excelled by any modern 
workman equipped with the latest and most highly 
perfected tools and appliances. Most of the beads 
are cylindrical or barrel-shaped. They vary in 
size from a quarter of an inch to nearly five inches 
in length, and from three-sixteenths of an inch to 
one inch in diameter. Others are globular in form, 
Some are disk-shaped, while a few are lenticular. 
All are perforated with small, perfectly drilled 
holes, and some are pierced by both transverse and 
lengthwise perforations. 

Among them is a pair of pendants or buttons of 
quartz crystal of oval shape, one side flat and the 


! 


INDUSTRIES AND ARTS 159 


other convex. From the flat side of each, two holes 
are drilled in such a way, and at such carefully 
planned angles, that the two perforations meet per- 
fectly in the very centers of the stones. 

Many of these gems are elaborately carved or 
sculptured in the form of frogs and other crea- 
tures. In vain we puzzle our brains, striving to 
solve the riddle of how the long-dead Indian arti- 
sans worked such refractory substances and drilled 
and carved them so perfectly with the crude means 
at their disposal. 

_ Many tribes used beads of gold, silver, platinum, 

copper, and other metals. These were often sim- 
ple things, globular or cylindrical in form, and 
either cast or hammered into shape or formed of 
thin sheets of rolled metal. Many are of the most 
intricate and beautiful workmanship, engraved, 
chased, and highly ornamented. 

Perhaps the most remarkable examples of the 
prehistoric Indian jeweler’s art are a number of 
gold beads from Ecuador which may be seen in 
the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Founda- 
tion, in New York City. These truly marvelous beads 
are almost microscopic in size, and, to the naked eye, 
appear merely as tiny grains of gold. When seen 
through a lens they prove to be perforated beads 
elaborately carved and often composed of a number 
of minute pieces welded or soldered together. 

How any human being could have made such 
tiny objects without the use of a lens is a mystery. 
Perhaps the artist who fashioned them actually 
used a crude magnifying glass made from a quartz 


160 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


pebble, or perhaps he possessed abnormal eye- 
sight. At any rate, no modern jeweler could dupli- 
cate the objects unless provided with a lens. 
Among the tribes of our Southwest, and among 
some South and Central American and Mexican 
tribes, turquoise was the favorite material for 
beads. Vast numbers of beautifully worked tur- 


quoise beads are found in the graves sei ig Sate te oq 


of these ancient people. 

The most widely used and best known material 
of which the Indians fashioned beads was shell. 
On the Pacific coast the haliotis or abalone shell 
was the favorite; in Central America and the West 
Indies pearl oysters and conchs were used; and 
on our Atlantic coast the most widely used shell 
was the round clam’ or quahog. From these vari- 
ous shells, disk-shaped or cylindrical beads were 
formed by cutting, grinding, and drilling. 

To our eastern Indians the clam- and oyster- 
shell beads were known as wampum. They were 
used for decorative work, for ornaments, and as 
currency. Woven into Pande belts, and similar 
forms, they served to convey messages, to com- 
memorate treaties, and to record tribal events. 

The various dbl Veet patterns, and other details 
of the wampum belts had distinctive meanings as 
easily read or translated by the Indians as are 
printed pages by a white man. 

Although the wampum was made by the seacoast 
tribes, yet it was a highly important article of 
trade and found its way to Indians hundreds of 
miles from the sea. For many years after our 


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TEXTILES 


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Blanket, Saltillo, Mexico Navajo Blanket 


INDUSTRIES AND ARTS 161 


eastern states were settled by Huropeans, wampum 
was the standard currency of both Indians and 
whites. In many of the old documents and records 
of New England may be found mention of prices 
paid for various commodities in wampum. A. con- 
tract made in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1650, pro- 
vides that payment shall be made in sacks of corn 
or in an equal value in wampum of blue color. 

From the very earliest times, Indian beadwork 
has been an important industry. To-day many of 
our Indians do a good business in beadwork and 
even supply department stores and eurio shops 
with their handiwork. Although few persons real- 
ize the fact, Indian beadwork varies greatly in ma- 
terial, the method of making, the weave, and the 
design. Each tribe worked out and developed its 
own methods and systems of beadwork; each used 
the materials which were at hand and best adapted 
to its needs; and each had its own distinctive pat- 
terns, color schemes, and combinations. 

Some tribes, such as our North American In- 
dians, used fine sinews for thread and sewed the 
beads on buckskin or trade cloth. Most of the 
Tndians of South and Central America used cotton, 
pita hemp, or: sisal fibers for thread and used a 
groundwork of woven hemp or cotton. The Andean 
tribes preferred alpaca or Ilama-hair thread and 
used woolen cloth or felt for a basis. When no 
foundation was used and the beads were strung 
and woven into bands, belts, and other articles, 
some tribes used simple looms, others used merely 


162 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


their deft fingers, and some used slender sticks or 
bone needles and crocheted the threaded beads. 

Wonderful skill and ingenuity is shown in Indian 
beadwork. In the Museum of the American Indian, 
Heye Foundation, is an exhibition of this important 
Indian industry which is a revelation. Here we 
may see various types of beadwork from many 
tribes. Accompanying each specimen is a diagram- 
matic drawing, or a model, on an enlarged scale 
illustrating exactly how the specimen is woven or 
sewed. This highly interesting and educational ex- 
hibit is the work of Mr. William Orchard of the mu- 
seum staff, who has made a special study of Indian 
bead-, quill-, and straw-work. 

Oddly enough, whereas two rieiahbortng tribes 
may have evolved totally distinct methods of weay- 
ing bead designs, other tribes, separated by thou- 
sands of miles, may have exactly duplicated one 
another’s system. As the design of the beadwork 
is more or less dependent upon the weave or method 
used in producing it, there is often a striking simi- 
larity in the beadwork of totally distinct tribes who 
could not by any possibility have been in contact. 

In weaving threaded beads into various articles, 
the patterns or designs must of necessity follow 
more or less straight lines, so that the figures are 
somewhat conventionalized and geometric or arbi- 
trary patterns are the commonest. In embroidering 
or decorating material by sewing beads to the 
ahr aula there is far greater scope for the work- 
er’s fancy and curves, natural forms, and other de- 
Signs are more in evidence. 


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INDUSTRIES AND ARTS 163 


Our eastern Indians were very fond of elaborate 
flower designs. Many of the examples of Algon- 
quin, Chippewa, Delaware, and other eastern 
tribes’ beadwork are most elaborate and artistic 
representations of birds, flowers, leaves, and scrolls. 

The western tribes were more partial to geo- 
metrical designs and conventionalized human and 
animal figures. The designs used by these tribes 
were often symbolical or told a story, whereas the 
floral designs of the more easterly tribes were usu- 
ally wholly ornamental. 

Although to a layman there appears to be little 
difference in the beadwork patterns of various 
tribes, to the Indian or to the ethnologist, each has 
its distinctive characteristics. Indeed almost any 
tribe may be identified by its beadwork. But, as is 
so often the case, the pattern of one tribe may be 
adopted and used by another. 

This often leads to confusion and amusing mis- 
takes. A Sioux pipe case in a shop window in 
Panama was greatly admired by some native In- 
dians and, soon afterwards, unmistakable Sioux 
patterns began to appear in the native Indian bead- 
work. A Navajo blanket owned by a mining man 
in Peru was widely copied by the Quichuas. One 
embryo ethnologist who, tremendously elated, pur- 
chased some Quichua rugs, felt sure that he had 
established a relationship between the Indians of 
the Andes and our western deserts. 

While visiting the Guaymis of Panama I used a 
cotton hammock made by the Arekunas of British 
Guiana. The weave of this aroused the keenest 


164 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


interest of the Guaymi women, and they at once fell 


to work netting hammocks of the same weave. I 
have no doubt, that at some future time some one 


who visits this tribe will find the Indians using ham- 
mocks of distinctive Arekuna type: and will feel 
positive that a great ethnological discovery. has gen. 
made. 

Beadwork, however, appears to have been less 
copied and to have been kept more distinctive than 
other Indian art. This is partly due to the fact that 
the pattern of one tribe will not always lend itself 
to the methods of weaving used. by another tribe. 
Partly, too, it is due to the peculiar conservatism 
of many tribes who will use only certain colors and 
certain sizes and forms of beads. Partly it is due 
to the fact that much of the beadwork has a tribal, 
clan, or other significance. — 

Garten colors are taboo among nara Hei 
are certain designs and figures, while other colors 
and figures have a magical, sacred or medicine value 
to the Indians. .Thus the Akawoias will never use 
green but prefer blue, and the Arekunas are fond 
of green. All the Cui tribes are fond of using the 
monkey figure in their decorative work, but would 
never dream of representing the turtle, although 
their neighbors, the Arowaks, reproduce the turtle 
extensively. Among the Quichuas, the Andean 
goose is worked into innumerable designs, but no 
self-respecting Aimara: would ever be seen wearing 
any article on which the goose is represented. 

Geometrical patterns are universally used, as 
straight lines, squares, and. dots in various: -combi- 


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INDUSTRIES AND ARTS: 165° 


nations invariably result in such patterns as crosses, 
Greek-key figures, swastikas, etc. Hence we find 
these designs occurring in the art of nearly every 
Indian tribe. 

Even more typically Indian than beadwork is the 
quillwork of our North American tribes. For this 
work the Indians used the quills or spines of the 
common American tree porcupine. These quills are 
durable, highly polished, and flexible. They are 
readily dyed and are used in innumerable ways for 
Indian decorative work. 

In using these quills the Indians employ many 
methods, each adapted to its particular purpose and 
the motif in view. They may be threaded and sewed 
on a groundwork like beads, they may be plaited 


and woven like basketry, they may be wrapped 


around thread and sewed in place, they may be 
wrapped about feathers, sticks, or other objects, or 
they may be woven into belts, bands, etc. 

Clothing, moccasins, headdresses, pouches, bags, 
were often elaborately and almost completely cov- 
ered with quill decorations, and even wooden and 
birch-bark boxes and baskets were frequently beau-. 
tifully decorated by magnificently wrought quill- 
work. Very often this quill ornamentation is so fine 
and even that at first sight it resembles textile work. 
In many ways, it is far more beautiful and shows far 
greater artistic feeling and workmanship than the 
best beadwork. 

Although still used to some extent, quillwork, as 
a leading industry of the Indians, is a thing of the 
past. Truly fine old quill-decorated articles are very 


166 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


valuable. Though quillwork was known to a very 
large proportion of the North American tribes, the 
finest examples are those produced by the northern 
and eastern Indians, especially the Algonquins of 
New England and Cinta $ 


Somewhat similar to quillwork is the strawwork. 


In reality, many a piece of so-called Indian quill- 
work is made with straw. In Mexico, many tribes 
produce remarkably intricate and beautiful results 
with dyed straw. Among the South American tribes, 
especially the Caribs, great ingenuity and art is 
shown in covering clay vessels, jugs, bottles, and 
other objects with plaited straw. 

Strawwork, aside from straw embroidery, is, 
however, akin to basketry. Indian baskets are as 
famous and as highly prized by civilized man as is 
Indian beadwork. Although the quality and style 
of Indian baskets vary as greatly as in any other 
Indian art, yet with few exceptions all the American 
Indian tribes are expert basket-makers. 

The materials used also vary, not only with the 
tribes but for the particular class of baskets made. 
In North America, willow, birch, and other flexible 
and tough splints are widely used for the coarser 
baskets, while bark, roots, grasses, straw, and other 
materials are employed for the better grades of 
baskets. In the West, tule reeds and other local 
materials find a place in basketry. In the tropical 
countries the lianas, bark, palm leaves, bamboo, and 
similar materials are employed. 

Nearly every weave known to man was used in 
Indian basketry, and a large volume would be re- 


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INDUSTRIES AND ARTS 167 


quired to describe these fully. Roughly speaking, 
Indian basketry may be divided into two distinct 
classes, the one consisting of the various woven, 
plaited, or netted forms, the other of coiled forms. 
The former or woven type is, perhaps, the more 
widely used; but many tribes, from northern North 

America to southern Chile, also made baskets of 
the coil type, the straw or other material being 
twisted, bound, or braided into strands which were 
eoiled into the basket form and fastened together 
by binding, lashing, sewing, or wrapping. 

To the Indians, baskets were highly important, 
absolutely essential, in fact. They were used for 
carrying burdens, for receptacles, for sieves, and 
for innumerable other purposes. Many were so 
finely woven that they would hold water, and fre- 
quently they were smeared with pitch or bitumen 
in order to serve as containers for liquids. Still 
others served as molds for making pottery, the 
basketry form being coated with clay which was 
then baked, thus destroying the basket-work mold. 

For strictly utilitarian purposes the baskets were 
usually plain. However, the Indians’ fondness for 
art and decorative effect resulted in most of their 
baskets being woven in endless color combinations 
and patterns, each more or less distinctive of the 
tribe, and often of symbolic significance. 

Even legends and myths, as well as stories of im- 
portant deeds and events, were perpetuated by 
weaving the tales, by means of pictures and de- 
signs, in basketry. Owing to the mediums used and 
the limitations of the weaving, basketry designs 


168 THE AMERICAN INDIAN § 
were more often highly conventionalized or geo- ~ 4 
metric than otherwise. In many examples of In- — 
dian basketry we can trace every gradation from 
purely geometric designs to easily ncOURmiaee ani- 
mal and human figures. 

Often several different materials were amate aid 4 
in weaving and decorating a single basket. Bits of — 
colored wool or cotton string, hair, seeds, bright- 
colored beans, shells, beads, and other objects found 
a place in ornamenting the Indian baskets. 

The most beautifully decorated and exquisitely 
wrought baskets are those of the Californian tribes. 
These are so finely woven that the weave is almost _ 
invisible. Into the strands are woven tiny, bright- 
colored feathers forming most artistic and beauti- — 
ful color combinations and designs. Some of these 
baskets are so completely covered with minute, 
downy feathers that the basketry itself is con- 
cealed, and the basket appears to be woven se iatian 
of feathers. 

Not only were the baskets highly important to 
the Indians themselves, but with the advent of Euro- 
peans, Indian baskets became an important article 
of trade and barter with the white men. 

Baskets are among the few articles which deine 
be successfully made by machinery. While many 
white persons, as well as colored people and gypsies, 
make baskets, none have ever equaled or supplanted a 
those of the American Indians. * 

To-day thousands of Indian baskets are made 
and sold each year in North, Central, and South 
America, and thousands of Indians depend entirely 


TYPES OF BASKETRY 


Pomo (Calif.) Basket with Feather and Bead Decoration 
Apache Basket Tray Tlingit (Alaska) Basket Apache Basket Tray 
Apache Basket Carib (Guiana) Baskets Apache Storage Basket 


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QUILL- AND BEAD-WoRK 
Iroquois Quillwork Algonquin Quillwork on Birch Bark 


Beaded Pouch, Tobacco Pouch, Pipe Bag, Saddle Bags, 
Crow Sioux Sioux Cheyenne 


INDUSTRIES AND ARTS 169 


upon baskets for their livelihood. At every sum- 
mer and winter resort, at every curio shop, at every 
department store, and even in five- and ten-cent 
stores, Indian baskets are on sale. It is seldom, 
however, that really fine and distinctive Indian 
baskets can be obtained unless one deals directly 
with the Indians. In New York City there is quite 
a large colony of Indians who devote all their time 
to making baskets to supply the demands of local 
stores. In every market in South and Central 
America and Mexico great numbers of Indian 
baskets are always on sale. Probably, taken all in 
all; basket-making is and always has been the chief 
industry of Indians as a whole. 

Next to baskets, pottery is perhaps the best known 
and widely used of Indian products. Though pot- 
tery was most important to the Indians, it is little 
in demand by the white race except as objects of 
art or decoration, or as curios. For ordinary uses, 
factory-made earthenware and porcelain are su- 
perior to Indian pottery, but there are certain forms 
of Indian ceramic ware which have never been sup- 
planted by the products of civilization. Such are 
the huge, terra-cotta ollas, the carafes, and similar 
utensils made by the Indians of Latin America. 
These find a ready sale and a constant demand in 
the Mexican and Central and South American 
markets. 

Like all other Indian products, pottery varies 
greatly in quality, design, durability, and beauty. 
Some tribes have never learned to produce anything 
but the coarsest kind of earthenware, crudely made, 


170 THH AMERICAN INDIAN 


fragile and roughly finished. Others produce highly 
finished, delicate, gracefully formed pottery. Some 
have reached an extremely high stage in the ceramic 
arts and produce vessels and utensils of graceful 
forms, exquisite color combinations, and thoroughly 
artistic and elaborate decorations. 

As Indians had never discovered the wheel, and 
hence were ignorant of the potter’s wheel, all their 
pottery was formed by hand. One marvels at the 
perfect symmetry and true circular forms they pro- 
duced solely by eye. 

Various methods of making pottery were used by 
the Indians. Some, as I have said, used basket 
forms and covered these with clay; others coiled 
strips or strands of clay into form and smoothed 
the surfaces, thus uniting the various coils; others 
used sand cores for modeling their larger vessels; 
and others molded the clay into shape by means 
of fingers, spatulas, sticks, and stone implements. 
Some used sun-dried pottery, others burned their 
ware, some tempered the clay with sand, others 
used broken shells, and others employed pulverized 
stones. Clays of various colors were used, and dif- 
ferent shades were obtained by using various pig- 
ments made from minerals and other materials. © 

Although kaolin is abundant in many places, no 
Indian tribe ever learned to produce true porcelain 
as we know it. As far as I am aware, no Indian 
potter ever discovered how to give a really fine 
glaze to his wares, but many tribes approached 
very closely to porcelain in their ceramics, and gave 


INDUSTRIES AND ARTS 171 


their pottery a slip surface which might readily be 
mistaken for a true glaze. 

In North America, many of the tribes produced 
textiles, but the weaving of cotton, wool, or other 
fibers never became a highly important industry 
except among the tribes of our Southwest and 
some of the Alaskan Indians. The Navajos, 
Pueblos, and other tribes weave magnificent blank- 
ets, saddlebags, rugs, etc. These have become 
famed throughout the civilized world and to-day 
provide these Indians with a good income. Despite 
all efforts, they have never been successfully imi- 
tated by means of machinery. In the far North- 
west, the Salish Indians, the Tlingits, and others 
wove marvelous textiles of bark and mountain- 
sheep and goat wool, ete. 

In South America, textiles are the principal in- 
dustry and the chief source of income for thousands 
of Indians. Among: the Andean tribes, such as the 
Quichuas and Aimaras, and also among the Ma- 
puches of Chile, textiles have been most highly de- 
veloped. The Andean Indians in particular, have, 
of necessity, learned to weave sheep, llama, alpaca, 
and other wools into heavy cloth, blankets, ponchos, 
and rugs capable of resisting the icy winds and the 
driving sleet and snow of the high altitudes. For 
summer use, they weave light-weight woolen goods 
comparable only to the finest tweeds and serges. 

Much of the Indian woven cloth is used by the 
Peruvians. It is in constant demand in Lima and 
the other towns where it is sold so cheaply that it 
is used for dust rags, sacking, etc. The finer grades 


(172 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


and the heavy woolens are also in demand by the 
white inhabitants of the countries. Being of the 
purest, hand-carded, hand-spun, and hand-woven 
wool, and retaining much of the natural animal oil, 
they are warmer, more durable, and more nearly 
waterproof than any machine-woven goods. 

In addition to their cloth, these Andean tribes 
knit and crochet heavy woolen caps, socks, gloves, 
and mittens which find a ready sale in the towns. 
The beautifully woven and attractively colored 
rugs, ponchos, blankets, ete., always bring good 
prices and are for sale everywhere. 

The poncho is universally worn by the Indians 
and by all white men who travel by horseback in 
‘western South America. It is the best and most — 
satisfactory article that could possibly have been 
designed for its purpose. Many of the ponchos are 
of sheep’s wool, others are of llama or alpaca, while 
the finest and most highly prized of all are of 
vicufia. In color these ponchos vary from natural 
gray, black, brown, or tan to the most flaming red, 
yellow, and orange. They are sometimes uniform 
in color, sometimes striped, or woven in highly 
decorative Indian patterns. 

Even more beautiful in perfection of weaving, in 
colors, and in designs are the Indian rugs. These 
vary in quality from coarse, hard-surfaced, carpet- 
like affairs to epee cy downy, soft rugs of 
the most intricate patterns and harmonizing colors. 

In addition to these, and the great variety of 
shawls, scarfs, and blankets, the Andean Indians 


INDUSTRIES AND ARTS 173 


produce numerous kinds of cloths of such fine tex- 
ture that one can scarcely believe they are hand- 
made. Formerly all of these textiles were dyed 
with permanent colors made from roots, vegetable 
juices, ores, minerals, etc.; but to-day aniline colors 
are widely used, much to the detriment of the In- 
dians’ products. The best textiles are still Indian 
dyed, or are woven from natural-colored wools. 
Although numerous imitations are offered for sale 
and every effort has been made to duplicate the 
Indian textiles by machinery, these are so inferior 
to the real articles and are so readily distinguish- 
able that the Indians have practically no compe- 
tition. 

In addition to their textiles, these Andean Indians 
carry on a large and lucrative industry in skins and 
hides, especially those of the vicufia, the chinchillas, 
and viscachas. They also manufacture immense 
numbers of bridles, ropes, and other horse trappings 
of rawhide and leather. 

As a rule, however, the South American Indians 
do not use skins or leather as did our North Amer- 
ican tribes. With the exception of the Andean 
tribes and those of southern Chile, the Central and 
South American Indians have little or no knowledge 
of curing skins, and do not even preserve or keep 
the hides of the creatures they kill. To be sure, the 
Indians of the tropical jungles have no need of 
garments of skin or other material, but there are 
hundreds of other uses to which leather might be 
put. Yet even those tribes who use sandals make 
their footgear from palm bark or plait them of palm 


174 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


leaves instead of fashioning them from rawhide or 
leather. 

Among our northern Indians the art of tanning 
and curing skins reached a high state of perfection, 
and Indian-tanned buckskin and other leathers are 
famous. ‘To these tribes, curing and tanning skins 
was an important industry, as was trapping. Orig- 
inally, of course, these Indians trapped and hunted 
and tanned the pelts of the various creatures for 
their own use. But with the arrival of Europeans, 
furs, skins, and tanned hides became valuable arti- 
cles of trade and vast numbers of Indians devoted 
practically all of their time to these industries. 

Another important industry, one developed sub- 
sequent to the arrival of Europeans, is horsehair 
work. Our southwestern tribes are particularly 
expert at this, but many of the Central and South 
American tribes are also artists at horsehair work 
and turn out most beautiful bridles and alah 
articles which find a ready sale. 

Ropes of hair, cotton, pita hemp, sisal, ie fiber, 
and other materials; cotton thread and twine; and 
hammocks of palm, grass, and cotton are all rae 
ucts of Indian industry, and are always in de- 
mand by the civilized inhabitants of the countries 
where they are made. Hammocks, which are strictly 
Indian and were unknown to Europeans before the 
days of Columbus, are in universal use throughout 
Latin America and are largely of Indian make. We 
must not forget Panama hats which, sold through- 
out the world and known to every nation, are of 
Indian origin and are made exclusively by Indians 


| 
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INDUSTRIES AND ARTS 175 


of South America. Similar hats of coarser grade 
are produced by numerous Mexican and Central 
American tribes. 

In Panama, the Guaymis and a few other tribes 
find a ready sale for their woven pita-hemp bags 
or chakaras. These bags vary greatly in quality 
and design, some being loosely woven and some 
being so fine that they will hold water. While some 
are plain or are ornamented only by bands of color, 
others are woven in magnificent, typically Indian 
designs of black, brown, yellow, red, and blue. Prac- 
tically every man and woman on the Isthmus carries 
an Indian chakara, and tourists from the north are 
enthusiastic over them. 

A really good Indian chakara sells for from ten 
to twenty dollars in Panama City. The Indians find 
no difficulty in disposing of all they can make, al- 
though, of course, they receive but a mere fraction 
of the prices charged for the bags in the city shops. 
So great is the demand for these chakaras that imi- 
tations are now manufactured in Germany and 
Japan, and are shipped by thousands to Central 
America; but the veriest amateur can readily dis- 
tinguish the genuine from the counterfeit. 

Still another Indian industry of importance is 
silverwork. Among our North American tribes, 
the Navajos are particularly famed as silversmiths 
but there are many other tribes who are also adepts 
at working silver into ornaments and utensils. Even 
many of our eastern Indians were skilled at silver- 
work, while in Chile the Mapuches are the equals 
if not the superiors of the Navajos in this industry. 


176 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


All of the arts and industries I have mentioned 
are of importance both to the Indians and the white 
men and are a source of revenue to the Indian 
artisans. But there are other Indian industries and 
arts which are carried on largely for home con- 
sumption. Among these may be mentioned feather- 
work, at which the Indians of most tribes are true 
artists; the making of paints, dyes, and pigments; 
wood-carving; and the wonderful pee cloth-. 
work of the San Blas tribes. — 

Although usually referred to as appliqué work, 
as a matter of fact, the intricate and beautiful de- 
signs on the San Blas costumes are not produced by 
appliquéd patterns but are more in the nature of 
cameos. Instead of being superimposed, the multi- 
ple-colored figures are produced by cutting away the 
cloth. 

In making one of these costumes, a number of 
layers of different colored cloth are stitched to- 
gether, the number of layers varying in accordance 
with the pattern and the colors desired in the fin- 
ished article. Then portions of one or more layers 
are cut away to reveal the color beneath, and the 
edges are turned under and hemmed with micro- 
scopic stitches. The result is a masterpiece of cloth 
intaglio. Oftentimes many weeks are devoted to 
making a single garment, the women working at 
spare moments and usually at night when, by the 
feeble light of flickering oi] dips, they cut and stitch, 
producing results which are so finely and perfectly 
sewed and finished that it seems impossible that they 
could be the work of human fingers unaided by ma- 
chinery. 


CHAPTER X 
_ IMPLEMENTS, WEAPONS, UTENSILS, ETC. 


IKE all primitive races, the American Indians 
L, used stone implements and weapons long before 
they learned the use of any metal. No doubt their 
prehistoric ancestors depended first upon wood and 
bone; but with few exceptions, all the tribes in 
America had learned to shape store tools, weapons, 
and implements long before the coming of the Span- 
iards. Some tribes had even gone farther and used 
implements and weapons of bronze. Some who 
lived on islands, where no rock harder than lime- 
stone occurred, used sharpened and shaped sea 
shells and bones of fish, birds, and mammals. 

Most of the tribes had developed the art of stone- 
working to a high degree. Many made beautifully 
finished arrow points of quartz, agate, and jasper; 
others excelled in their stone axes and celts; while 
others chipped or flaked obsidian into almost razor- 
edged knives, daggers, swords, and lance heads. 
For weapons they had bows and arrows, spears, 
lances, javelins, fish spears, harpoons, clubs, maces, 
throwing clubs, skull-crackers, axes, hatchets, mauls, 
daggers, knives, lassoes, bolas, blowguns, and boom- 
erangs. Some tribes possessed some of these 


_ weapons and other tribes used others. 
177 


178 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


As far as is known every tribe of North, Central 
and South America used, and many still use, the bow 
and arrow. ‘These weapons, however, varied tre- 
mendously with the various tribes. Not only did 
they vary in size and form, but in material, work- 
manship, power, and efficiency. Most of the North 
American tribes preferred rather short, broad bows 
of flat or nearly flat section, and short, heavy, well- 
feathered arrows. ‘The Indians of the southern 
hemisphere went to the other extreme and used bows 
of great length—often seven feet long, fairly slen- 
der, almost straight, and of round, semicircular or 
squarish section, while their arrows were often six 
feet in length, very light and slender and either 
slightly feathered or not feathered at all. 

Many of the North American Indians reinforced 
their bows with sinew or rawhide, and used sinews 
or rawhide for bowstrings. Many South American 
tribes preferred the strong pita hemp or even 
woolen or cotton cord for the same purposes. In 
the far north the Indians often used bows made of 
horn or whalebone, while in the extreme south the 
Fuegians and others used bows which were scarcely 
more than roughly shaped tree branches. 

In the forms of their arrowheads there was also 
a great deal of variety. Nearly every tribe had 
learned to make heads or tips which were best 
adapted to secure the game for which the arrows 
were intended. For war arrows the lance or spear — 
type of head was widely used. For killing large — 
and dangerous game, long, keen-edged lancelike 
heads were employed. For smaller creatures the 


IMPLEMENTS, WEAPONS, ETC. 179 


tips were either the typical arrow points, spikelike, 
or merely the pointed wood of the arrow hardened 
by fire. For fish the points were trident-shaped, 
multiple pointed, many barbed, or harpoonlike. For 
small creatures and birds blunt heads were used so 
that the arrow would knock over the quarry without 
tearing its skin and flesh. 

Whatever the form of bow or arrow or the style 
of tip used, the weapons were remarkably accurate 
and deadly in the hands of the Indian archer. Many 
of the Spaniards and other Europeans found steel 
armor did not protect them from the arrows of the 
Indians if fired at short range. A plains Indian 
could drive a buffalo arrow completely through a 
bison, and the South American Indians had no diffi- 
culty in killing jaguars and tapirs with their arrows. 

Possibly the American Indians were never the 
equals of the famous archers of England, but they 
were and still are wonderful marksmen with the 
bow and arrow. I have seen North American In- 
dians fire an arrow into a target and split the first 
with a second arrow at twenty paces. I have re- 
peatedly watched the South American Indians prac- 
ticing by firing their long arrows into swaying fruits 
attached to the tips of the leaves of tall palm trees; 
and I have seen a Central American Indian bring 
down a running deer at over fifty yards. 

No English bowman could ever excel or even equal 
the South American Indian in shooting fish. To 
see one of these Indians standing upon a slippery, 
spray-washed rock in the midst of foaming rapids 
and shooting fish as they dart and leap in the churn- 


Conran &© HN = 


Weapons, NortH AMERICAN TRIBES 


. Knives, Tlingit Indians, Alaska 

. Knives, Athabascan Indians, Canada 

. Knife, Modoc Indians 

. Knife Sheath of Beaded Buckskin, Modoc Indians 
. Buffalo Hide Shield, Osage Indians 

. Pipe-Tomahawk, Assiniboine Indians 

. Pipe-Tomahawk, Miami Indians 

-. Bow, Quineult Indians 


Bow, Korok Indians 


. Bow, Chippewa Indians 

. Bow, Chippewa Indians 

. Bow, Fox Indians 

. Bow, Penobscot Indians 

. Bow Lance, Sioux Indians 

. Arrow Points, Various Tribes 
. War Club, Iroquois Indians 

. War Club, Iroquois Indians 

. War Club, Delaware Indians 
. War Club, Cree Indians 

. War Club, Oto Indians 

. War Club, Cree Indians 

. War Club, Miami Indians 

. War Club, Fox Indians 

. War Club, Winnebago Indians 
. War Club, Sioux Indians > 

. War Club, Sioux Indians 

. War Club, Sioux Indians 

. War Club, Sioux Indians 

. War Club, Wichita Indians 

. War Club, Caddo Indians 

. War Club, Apache Indians 

. War Club, Apache Indians 

. War Club, Apache Indians 

. War Club, Pueblo Indians 

35. 
36. 
37. 


Sword of Bone, Kawkiutl Indians 
Boomerangs, Hopi Indians 
Boomerangs, Comanche Indians 


180 


181 


182 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


ing, rushing torrent, is a sight never to be forgotten. 
Very seldom do they miss their mark. The arrows 
used for this purpose are, in effect, miniature har- 
poons, having loose barbed points attached to a 
string which is wound about the shaft and fastened 
to it. When the fish is struck, the shaft floats free 
and serves as a buoy to enable the Indian to locate 
and secure the fish. 

Although the majority of tribes do not poison 
their arrowheads, certain Indians, such as the Wai- 
wois of Brazil, smear the tips of big game and war 
arrows with wurali poison. Others use the poison- 
ous spines of the sting ray for tipping arrows used 
for shooting large game or human beings. 

Far more deadly than the bow and arrow is the 
blowgun or blow-pipe. ‘This formerly was in use 
by nearly every tribe from northern United States 
to southern South America and from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific. Even the Iroquois used this weapon. 

In North America, it reached its highest develop- 
ment in the southeastern woodland districts. Two 
types were in use there, the commonest being merely 
an eight-foot cane with the internal partitions re- 
moved so as to form a straight tube. The other type 
was made by splitting a straight stick, grooving the 
two halves, fitting them together, and binding and 
sealing them in place by means of twine and gum or 
wax. The darts used in both types were strips of 
cane ten to twenty inches long. They were steamed 
and twisted in screwlike form to prevent warping 
and were feathered permanently by thistle down or 
cotton tied on spirally. As far as is known the North 


IMPLEMENTS, WEAPONS, ETC. 183 


American tribes never poisoned their blowgun darts. 

In Central and South America the blowgun still 
holds its own. It has reached the highest develop- 
ment among the jungle tribes of the Amazonas dis- 
trict and about the tributary waters of the Amazon 
and Orinoco. 

In size, workmanship, construction, and efficiency 
the blowgun varies even more than the bow and 
arrow. Many tribes, especially in Central America, 
use a simple, hollow reed straightened by heat and 
only four or five feet in length. Others use a short 
pipe made by forcing the pith from a straight sec- 
tion of the stem of a shrub or small tree. Still 
others form their blowguns by carefully fitting two 
semicircular grooved pieces of hardwood together 
and wrapping the tube thus formed with cotton, 
pita, or rattan. 

By far the best and most accurate weapons con- 
sist of an inner-tube or barrel inclosed in an outer 
or protective tube of wood. The inner tube or gun 
proper is made of a straight, hollow reed most care- 
fully selected and straightened until it is as true 
as a rifle barrel. This is often ten to twelve feet in 
length and is securely fastened, by means of gum 
and wax, within the stem of a slender palm tree 
from which the pith has been extracted. At one 
end a mouthpiece of wood is attached, and near the 
other end there is a sight made of two agouti teeth 
cemented side by side to the surface of the outer 
tube. 

In these guns, darts made from the slender mid- 
-ribs of palm leaves are used. One end of the dart 


184 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


is wrapped with a bit of fluff from the silk cotton 
tree, in order to make it fit snugly in the gun, while 
the other is sharpened and may be used plain or 
poisoned. | 

Before using, the tip of a poisoned dart is twirled 
between the teeth of a pirai-fish jaw, thus cutting a 
notch about the dart just above the poisoned area. 
This prevents the poisoned arrow from dropping to 
earth, where it might be stepped upon by a bare- 
footed Indian, and also insures the poisoned tips 
remaining in the body of the creature it strikes, 
for the notched tip, upon hitting any object, will 
break off and remain where it strikes. 

Such blowguns are extremely accurate and the 
darts can be fired with surprising force. I have 
repeatedly seen Indians bring down humming birds 
from the tops of tall trees, and I have seen the darts 
penetrate a quarter of ‘an inch into soft wood. 

In place of these darts some tribes use small clay 
pellets or bullets in their blowguns. These may be 
sun dried and hard, or they may be made from soft 
clay as they are required, much as the small boy 
makes missiles to use in his putty blower. These 
clay pellets are, of course, suitable only for small 
birds and other creatures, although they have suf- 
ficient force to stun a rabbit or squirrel. 

As a sort of connecting link between the bow and 
arrow and the spears, we find the throwing spear 
with the throwing stick or atlatl. In times past the 
atlatl was widely used. Atlatls of widely varying 
forms are found in ancient graves, mounds, kitchen 
-middens, and tombs from southern South America 


IMPLEMENTS, WEAPONS, ETC. 185 


to Canada. In general the atlatl was a slender stick 
from ten to twenty-four inches in length, widest in 
the center, and fitted with a hook at one end and a 
hand grasp or finger hole at the opposite extremity. 

In using the atlatl, the butt of the spear was placed 
against the hook and held in place by one or more 
fingers of the user’s hand, the other fingers and 
thumb grasping the handle of the atlatl. It was, in 
effect, an extension of the arm, and added greatly 
to the force and range of the spear when thrown, 
on the same principle that an apple is thrown to an 
immense distance by being impaled on a sapeet 
stick. 

Among the Eskimos these throwing sticks are 
still in use, but as far as is known the only Indian 
tribes who still use the atlatl are the Guaymis and 
Bogenahs of the interior of Panama. The throwing 
sticks of these Indians are short, heavy, and rather 
erudely made with the hook formed from the same 
piece of wood as the rest of the implement, whereas 
the prehistoric and Aztec atlatls often had hooks of 
stone, bone, turquoise, ete. 

There are two types of atlatls used by these 
Panama Indians, one with the hook on the upper 
surface, the other with the hook at an angle to the 
plane of the implement. But despite the short 
length of these atlatls and their crude form they 
are most efficient, and with them an Indian can throw 
a spear to an incredible distance and with amazing 
accuracy. Indeed, both the Guaymis and the 
Bogenahs prefer the atlatl and throwing 7 to 
the bos and arrow in most cases. 


186 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


The spears used with these implements are from 
six to seven feet in length and are fitted with vari- 
ous styles of points according to the game being 
hunted. They are almost indistinguishable from 
arrows, and are often used as arrows with a bow. 

Many tribes use spears, both for throwing by 
hand like javelins and for stabbing. Several tribes, 
especially horse Indians such as our Sioux and 
other plains tribes and the Mapuches of Chile, use 
long lances. 

Axes, maces, skull-crushers, and tomahawks are 
widely used both in warfare and for killing game. 
These may be of hard, heavy wood, of stone, or of 
metal and vary tremendously in design and work- 
manship. Many tribes of South and Central Amer- 
ica use plain wooden clubs of very hard, heavy wood 
which are often elaborately carved and highly deco- 
rated with feathers, tassels, ete. At times such 
clubs are provided with a stone or metal ax head 
set in one or both edges. Other tribes, such as the 
Caribs and the Panos, use wooden clubs which are 
almost swordlike, while still others are content with 
bludgeons and others use clubs shaped like baseball 
bats and covered with projecting knobs or spikes. 

Among the North American tribes stone axes and 
skull-crackers were formerly favorite weapons, but 
the Indians soon learned the superiority of metal 
over stone and adopted the steel hatchet or toma- 
hawk. Many tribes, however, still retain the stone- 
headed skull-crackers. These have a double-ended 
stone head attached to a supple rawhide handle and 
are usually highly decorated with beadwork, scalp 


IMPLEMENTS, WEAPONS, ETC. 187 


locks, etc. They are terrible weapons and most 
appropriately named. 

Maces of stone, very similar in design to the old 
European maces, were once used by many tribes, 
notably by the Incas, who made stone mace heads 
of annular form with numerous sharp projecting 
points about the circumference. 

Knives and daggers of stone, metal, wood, and 
bone were used by nearly all tribes, but these were 
more in the nature of utensils than weapons. The 
trade knives of the Europeans very soon took the 
place of the cruder aboriginal articles. 

Even swords were known to the Indians before 
the advent of the Spaniards. The Aztecs used 
swords of wood with edges formed of flakes of razor- 
edged obsidian; the natives of our northwest used 
swords of whales’ bones; and our western Indians 
made good use of cavalry sabers taken from the 
troopers they captured or killed. 

Slings appear to have been confined largely to 
the South American Indians of the Andean regions. 
They are found in the most ancient graves of Peru 
and Chile, and all the Andean tribes I have visited 
still use slings of exactly the same design as the 
Biblical sling used by David in his famous duel 
with Goliath. They are as efficient in the hands of 
a Quichua or Aimara as in the hands of the Israelite 
champion. 

Probably the bolas of South America was orig- 
inally an offspring of the sling. It has long been 
associated with the Pampas Indians of Chile and 


188 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


the Argentine; but few people are aware that, for- 
merly at least, bolas were used by our North Amer- 
ican tribes and even by the tribes of New England. 

The bolas in its simplest form is merely a cord 
with stone weights attached at each end. One throws 
it by grasping it at the middle of the cord, or by 
one end, and whirling it around, and suddenly re- 
leasing the hold. Many of these weapons have three 
or even four weights or balls. 

When thrown by an expert they are very effective. 
Striking the legs of a running animal, they wrap 
themselves about the limbs and bring the creature 
helpless to the earth where he may be readily killed 
or captured. 

It is stated that in their long and successful wars 
against the Spaniards, the Mapuches—or as they 
are more commonly though incorrectly called, the 
Araucanians—found the bolas an invaluable weapon. 
The Dons’ horses. being brought down, the heavily 
armored and therefore clumsy riders fell easy prey 
to the Mapuches’ clubs and lances. 

In southern South America the bolas is as much a 
part of the Indian’s, and also the Gaucho’s, equip- 
ment as the lasso is of the cowboy’s. The lasso is 
also widely used by the Indians nearly everywhere. 

Although many persons think the boomerang a 
weapon peculiar to Australia, yet it is known to 
many primitive races including the American In- 
dians. To be sure, the Indian boomerang—or as it 
is known in the Southwest, ‘‘rabbit stick’—is by 
no means as remarkable a weapon as the Australian 


IMPLEMENTS, WEAPONS, ETC. 189 


boomerang. Its principle is. the same, however, 
and among the various forms of Indian boomerangs 
are many which are strikingly like some from Aus- 
tralia. | 
In its simplest form the boomerang or rabbit 
stick is merely a throwing club designed to knock 
over rabbits, gophers, and other small game. There 
is every gradation from these crude weapons to 
carefully curved and designed boomerangs which, 
if properly thrown, will travel in a circular path 
and return to the vicinity of the spot whence they 
started. 7 
In addition to all these types of weapons there are 
many which are hybrid affairs combining the fea- 
tures of two or more of the foregoing. Some of 
our plains Indians fitted a spearhead to one end 
of a bow and thus had a lance and bow combined. 
Others used an ax head or spear point set in one 
side of a club so that the weapon could be used at 
will to bash in an enemy’s head or to cut a wicked 
gash. Pipes and hatchets were often combined. 
Knife blades were set in bludgeons, thus forming 
a combined dagger and club and there were numer- 
ous other combination weapons. | 
For defense many of the Indians used shields, 
Our western Indians made round shields of buffalo 
hide which were quite effective as a protection from 
arrows, spears, and clubs but were of little value 
against bullets. Many of these Indians. believed 
that a medicine shield, which was a miniature shield 
supposedly possessing magical powers, was as ef- 
fectual a protection as a regular, full-sized shield, 


190 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


and they frequently went into battle carrying these 
toylike affairs. 

Among the South American tribes, shields of 
various types were used. The Arowaks made large, 
rectangular shields of strips of palm stems lashed 
together. Although these appeared clumsy and un- 
gainly, yet they were very light and the pithy wood 
served as an excellent protection from arrows and 
spears. Other tribes used shields of woven bas- 
ketry. It is said that the Mapuches (Araucanians) 
formerly used round shields of skin much like those 
of our western Indians. | 

Since many weapons served also as tools, and vice 
versa, it is rather difficult to draw the line between 
Indian weapons and Indian tools and implements. 
This is especially true of prehistoric stone imple- 
ments, for no one can state positively whether an 
ax head, hammer head, or other stone object found 
in an ancient grave was used exclusively as a weapon 
or a tool. No doubt they often served the dual 
purpose, although many were obviously designed 
for use as tools whether they were utilized as 
weapons or not. 

There are also many which were apparently de- 
signed solely for ceremonial use, just as many of 
the modern weapons and tools are used solely for 
such purposes. Immense stone axes, which are far 
too heavy for any human being to wield effectively, 
are not uncommon, and were unquestionably cere- 
monial, as were numerous hammers, knives, spear- 
and arrow-heads, ete., whose form or size precludes 
their use for practical purposes. 


IMPLEMENTS, WEAPONS, ETC. 191 


Even the arrow points, so called, were not always 
weapons. Many of the smallest of these are so tiny 
that we cannot believe they were attached to arrows. 
In many places such miniature points have been 
found which were obviously used as drills. Among 
many thousands of stone artifacts which I obtained 
at Tal Tal in Chile were several short wooden drills 
tipped with such points, and partially drilled stones 
were found with these arrow-shaped drill points still 
in place in the holes. 

No doubt many of the so-called spear and lance 
heads, knives, and similar objects were also 
primarily tools. Among the Boorabbis I found heavy 
wooden clubs which the Indians stated served both as 
weapons and as pestles. So, too, many of the South 
American tribes use clubs which are identical in 
shape with their paddles, as well as paddles which 
bear many of the earmarks of clubs, and no doubt 
could be used as weapons. 

In addition to all such utensils there are many 
which were unquestionably wholly utilitarian. Such 
are adzes of bronze and stone, hoes, chisels, awls of 
bone, stone, and bronze; hammers and celts; mor- 
tars and pestles; pounders and scrapers; metates ; 
and innumerable other objects. 

Such things when made of stone vary greatly in 
form, material, and workmanship, and they were 
used from the earliest days of the stone age until 
the advent of the white men, and are still in use 
among many tribes. 

Hammers or celts vary all the way from the erud- 
est hammer stones, which are merely rounded cobbles 


192 THE AMERICAN INDIAN || | 


held in the hand, to finely formed and polished imple- 
ments of the Hardest stone which are is cle to be 
attached to wooden handles. © 

Adzes, axes, and other similar tools vary just as 
much, and thé same is true of scrapers, knives, 
ahawels: drills, awls, ete. | | 

The oiarteatt Pade tribes did not progress 
equally on their road to culture. While some had 
reached the highest development in the art of fash- 
ioning stone implements, and some had even reached 
the bronze age, many others were still using rough 
cobbles and flakes of stone which bore little re- 
semblance to man-made tools or weapons. Some 
never advanced beyond this stage in stonework, al- 
though they reached a high state of culture along 
other lines, such as Shag ios sculpture, 
ceramics, textiles, etc. 

In the case of panies or hunting Indians, weapons 
were all-important and were highly perfected, 
whereas among agricultural tribes, household uten- 
sils, agricultural tools, and {iplemenite for prepar- 
ing food, harvesting, weaving, etc., were of far 
greater iiportantes than oenaneies or defensive 
weapons and were developed accordingly. 

Many of these Indians used wooden tools and im- 
plements in preference to stone and hence we find 
such a wide diversity of implements and tools that 
it is impossible to describe or even mention them 
all. Nearly every tribe, however, possessed mortars 
and pestles. The enki American and Mexican 
tribes used a curiously devised grinding stone known 
to-day as the ‘‘metate.’’ It is in universal use among 


IMPLEMENTS, WEAPONS, ETC. 193 


the Indian as well as the Spanish population of Cen- 
tral and South America. 

The metate in its simplest form is merely a flat 
slab of stone set at an angle. Upon it the corn is 
ground by rubbing and rolling with a spindle-shaped 
stone. The commonest form is provided with three 
or four legs, two longer than the others. Through 
a process of chipping or cutting away a mass of the 
stone, the legs are left as more or less conical pro- 
jections which very often are carved to represent 
animals’ feet. 

The metate may be very ornate with a sculptured 
head at one end and a tail at the other, or the entire 
circumference may be decorated by sculptured 
figures or heads. Many of the ancient metates were 
for ceremonial purposes and were huge affairs with 
most elaborate sculptures so intricate and fine that 
they resemble fretwork in solid stone. 

Another form of grinding stone consisted of a 
stone tray, and the corn or other material was pul- 
verized by rocking another stone back and forth. As 
far as is known, no tribe uses this form to-day; but 
the same method is used by the Shayshans of 
Panama for pulverizing cacao beans, a wooden slab 
or tray being substituted for the tray of stone. 

As stated in Chapter IT, no Indian tribe ever dis- 
covered the wheel; but several tribes came very near 
doing so and utilized the wheel principle in many 
of their implements and tools. Practically every 
tribe that spun hemp, cotton, or wool used spindles 
for spinning the threads. These consisted of sticks 
or shafts made of wood, bone, or other material and 


1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 
11. 
12, 
13. 
14, 
16. 
16. 


Weapons, South AMERICAN TRIBES 


Spear, Gaingangs (Brazil) 

Bow, Gaingangs (Brazil) ¢ 
Spear Thrower or “Natladl,” Guaymi (Panama) 
Atlatl, Inca (Peru) 

Club, Mundurucu (Brazil) 

Stone Ax, Jivaro (Ecuador) 

Wooden Club, San Blas (Panama) 

Club, Craja (Brazil) 

Club, Arekuna (British Guiana) 

Club, Akuria (British Guiana) 

Club with Stone Blade, Gran Chaco (Paraguay) 
Wooden Club, Pano (Bolivia) 

Club with Stone Blade, Arowak (British Guiana) 
Club, Carib (Guiana ) 

Club, Carib (Guiana) 

Club, Wapisiana (Brazil) 


OD ee ae ee een 


FANT WIS 


S 
ih 
‘ 
G 


r) Sy 
- (ZAC 


ATS 


196 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


provided with weights so that the spindles would 
whirl or spin. Some of these weights were small 
affairs of clay or stone, while others were large disks 
of bone, shell, wood, ete. 

Weary all tribes also used bow drills, or twist 
drills operated by a twisted cord. In some cases 
these were provided with a large disk which acted as 
a flywheel. The nearest approach to the use of the 
wheel and, as far as is known, the only truly mechani- 
cal apparatus ever invented or used by Indians, is 
the mechanism used by the Guaymis for spinning 
horsehair rope. This is a clever combination of 
the bow drill and cotton spindle set in a wooden 
frame and provided with a large, heavy disk of wood 
which serves as a flywheel, the whole looking at first 
sight much like a hand-turning lathe. 

Neither true saws nor files were known to the In- 
dians; but the Mexican Indians used rough-edged 
fitea" of obsidian for cutting stone, and nearly all 
tribes had a good knowledge of the use of sand for 
cutting, drilling, and abrasive purposes. Stonework 
was finished by rubbing and polishing, and wood- 
work was smoothed by seraping and smoothing by 
means of soft stone, sand, shark skin, or the rough 
leaves of a forest tree. 

For capturing fish, the Indians used bows, arrows, 
harpoons, and spears, as already described, and in 
addition they had seines, weirs, drag nets, cast nets, 
and fishhooks. The latter were crudely made as a 
rule, being fashioned from shell, bone, or even stone; 
but many of the tribes who had learned the use of 
gold, bronze, or other metals made excellent fish- 


IMPLEMENTS, WEAPONS, ETC. 197 


hooks of these materials, many of which are identical 
in form and design with our own steel hooks. 

For awls, the Indians used sharpened bones, shells, 
stone, horn, etc. Needles were made of bone, horn, 
or the sharpened and dried sinews of large animals 
and birds. Most of our North American:tribes used 
sinews and rawhide for thread and cord; while the 
Central American and many South American tribes 
used cotton or pita hemp, and the patel Indians 
used wool, llama hair, alpaca, etc. 

Nearly every tribe possessed a knowledge of weav- 
ing which varied from hand knotting to the finest 
woven textiles. Regardless of the quality of textiles 
made, the looms were always of the simplest and 
éendest forms. Very often they were merely two 
sticks, and even the most elaborate rugs and blankets 
were woven on looms of the most primitive. type. 

For cooking, the Indians used innumerable pots, 
pans, ollas, jugs, etc. These were made of pottery, 
stone, wood, horn, hide, etc.; according to the mate- 
rial at hand and the purposé for which ‘the ‘utensils 
were to be used. WHarthenware varied greatly in 
quality and material, and ranged all the way from 
sun-dried clay to the most highly decorated and 
beautifully finished and artistically shaped pottery. 

For utensils not designed for cooking but for stor- 
ing or holding various objects, our North American 
Indians used boxes and cases made of wood or birch 
bark and often highly ornamented with porcupine- 
quill work. The Mapuches of Chile used hide uten- 
sils. One type of these is made from the skin of a 
cow’s udder with the dried teats serving as legs; the 


oON Oar &©& NH 


CANOES 


. Reed Balsa, Siri Indians, Mexico 

. Balsa, Klamath Indians, California 

. Balsa, Quichua Indians, Lake Titicaca 

. Dugout, Northern Algonquins 

. Dugout, Chippewa Indians, Canada 

. Dugout, Delaware Indians 

. Dugout, Squamish Indians 

. Dugout, Dwaimish Indians 

. Dugout, Menomini Indians 

. Dugout, Korok Indians 

. Dugout, Arowak Indians, Guiana ~ 

. Dugout, Chokoi Indians, Colombia 

. Dugout, Carib Indians, West Indies 

. Dugout, San Blas Indians, Panama 

. Woodskin of Bark, Akawoia Indians, British Guiana 
. Birch Canoe, Slave Indians, Northwest Canada 
. Birch Canoe, Chippewa Indians, Canada 

. Birch Canoe, Kutenai Indians 

. Birch Canoe, Montegnais, Eastern Canada 

. Birch Canoe, Penobscot Indians, Maine 

. Dugout Canoe, Waika Indians, Guiana 

. Raft of Sea Lion Skins, Chango Indians, Chile 
. Bull Boat of Mandan Indians, United States 


198 


YG 
UNNI pe” 


Eblntiinlkcrecabaalstadlibc arate 


199 


200 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


other form is made from the skin of a calf or colt’s 
head removed entire and dried in its natural form. 

Baskets were also widely used as receptacles, for 
carrying various articles, and as sieves. Most tribes 
had developed basketry to a high state of perfection 
and artistic design. The Indians of California wove 
feathers and beads into their baskets and thus pro- 
duced effects unequaled by any race. 

For making fire, the Indians, before the advent of 
Europeans, depended: upon friction. Many tribes 
used the bow and spindle or pump drill; others 
merely rubbed sticks together and many tribes in 
Central and South America still use this method. 
I have seen an Arowak woman make fire in a heavy 
rain in less than two minutes by rubbing a piece of 
palm-flower stem upon a piece of palm bark. But 
the Indians were always quick to adopt anything 
which the white men used, and flint and steel are now 
in use by many remote tribes who, apparently, have 
had.no contact with civilization. 

Although boats can scarcely be considered as 
weapons, utensils, or implements, still, as the Indians 
were, in many cases, so dependent upon their craft 
for hunting, fishing, etc., their boats may quite prop- 
erly be included in this chapter. 

Perhaps the most famed of all Indian craft are the 
birch canoes which, made by white men and covered 
with canvas instead of bark, are now known and used 
throughout the world. Each tribe of northern and 
eastern Indians who used birch-bark canoes had its 
own particular pattern and design, the best known 
and most widely copied of which are those of the 


IMPLEMENTS, WEAPONS, ETC. 201 


Micmacs, Penobscots and Passamaquoddy Indians 
of Maine. When properly made and handled the 
birch-bark canoe is a marvelously safe and seaworthy 
” eraft, capable of withstanding ooo Spi hogs far out 
at sea. 

In their bark canoes the Passamaquoddy Indians 
of Maine go porpoise-hunting in the tide rips off the 
Bay of Fundy when the fishing smacks are double 
reefed. With one Indian handling the paddle in the 
stern and another standing with ready shotgun in 
the bow, the canoe rides the choppy, white-capped 
seas like a cork. When they run into a school of 
porpoises and one of the creatures is shot, both In- 
dians will reach ever the side of their frail craft and, 
seizing the porpoise by snout and blowholes, be 
drag the carcass over the gunwale. 

It is a great mistake, however, to assume that all 
the northeastern tribes used birch-bark canoes. Far 
more tribes used canoes of elm bark or made dugout 
canoes. The New Hngland Indians south of Maine 
and northern Massachusetts, the tribes of the.central 
Atlantic states, the Iroquois, and many other tribes 
were all users of canoes hewn and SE aa ies 
logs. | 
Indeed, the dugout in its various forms was far 
more widely used than the bark canoe, which was 
strictly confined to those sections of the country 
where large white birch trees abounded. The In- 
dians of our Northwest made splendid dugouts, often 
of immense size and capable of long ocean voyages. 
The Indians of our middle and southern states used 
dugouts almost exclusively, which, although) almost 


202 =  #$THE AMERICAN INDIAN | 


semicylindrical in section and apparently very 
cranky, were excellent sea craft when properly 
handled. 

Many of the North American tribes had no canoes 
of any sort. When necessity arose they made use 
of crude craft resembling the European coracles, 
circular tublike affairs of rawhide stretched on a 
frame of withes. Other tribes, especially on our 
western coast, used balsas or boats made of bundles 
of reeds lashed together, and like the round skin 
‘‘bull boats,’’ these served very well for crossing 
streams or lakes. 

South of the United States, dugout canoes were 
the general rule. In Central America, where the 
craft were designed for river work, the canoes were 
almost semicylindrical in section and were often 
provided with flat, platform-like ends on which the 
Indians stood when poling their craft along the shal- 
low streams and through rapids. For sea work the 
canoes were designed with fine lines, true boat- form 
section, and a good sheer to bow and stern. 

Probably the best sea canoes of middle and south 
America are the Carib canoes of the West Indies and 
the San Blas canoes of Panama. The former con- 
sists of a dugout shell, spread by steaming, with the 
sides and sheer built up by planks lashed or pegged 
to the dugout gunwales. These boats will live 
through almost any weather and are still used as 
droughers or lighters in many of the Lesser Antilles. 
They are extremely fast under sail, are strong and 
buoyant, and will carry enormous loads. In these 
Carib canoes the first of the buccaneers voyaged 


IMPLEMENTS, WEAPONS, ETC. 203 


from Saint Kitts to Haiti and even raided Spanish 
towns and attacked Spanish galleons with success. 
The San Blas canoes, on the other hand, are com- 
pletely dug out from mahogany or cedar logs and 
have high bows and sterns, resembling in form the 
birch-bark canoes. They are swift, seaworthy, and 
easily handled, and no matter how rough or windy 
the weather the Indians do not hesitate to make long 
sea voyages in their tiny craft. 

In northern and central South America, where all 
travel is by rivers filled with falls and rapids, dug- 
out canoes of a very different type are used. These 
are sharp ended with spoon-shaped bows and sterns 
to enable them to slip easily off submerged rocks, 
and have very thick bottoms to prevent injury in the 
rapids. In addition to these, light, buoyant bark 
canoes are widely used. These woodskins are easily 
made in an hour or less and are used mainly where 
there are many long and hard portages, one canoe 
being abandoned at the foot of the falls and another 
made at the other end of the portage. 

On the west coast of South America a very curious 
type of boat is used by some of the tribes. These 
boats consist of two inflated skins of the sea lion 
lashed together and provided with a rough platform 
of wood. Although crude and cumbersome in ap- 
pearance and not capable of any great speed, they 
are very light, and are as safe and buoyant as life 
rafts. 

In the far south, in the storm-lashed waters of 
the Strait of Magellan and about Tierra del Fuego, 
the Onas and Yahgans used crudely built boats made 


204 THE AMERICAN INDIAN © 


up of odds and ‘ends of planks lashed, nailed, or 
pegged together, and often with a dugout bottom. | 


They are seemingly ready to fall apart, to say noth- 


ing of the fact that they leak so badly that consti 


bailing is necessary. 


Finally, on Lake Titicaca, we find the Indisnet using 


reed boats or balsas identical in many ways with the 


reed rafts of our west coast. These Lake Titicaca 


balsas vary in size from tiny one-man canoes to im- 
mense cargo boats or lighters carrying huge sails. 


In every case they are constructed of bundles of 


reeds lashed together in cylindrical form. Two or 
more of these bundles are then lashed together, some- 
times in double or triple layers, in such a way that 
the bows and sterns are slightly cocked up. Around 
the edges of the whole are low gunwales of reeds tied 


together: On the larger craft, a superstructure or 
platform of wood and even a tent, shelter, or cabin 


may be erected. 
' Thus we find that the Acobridant Indians, even ny 


fore the arrival of Europeans, had learned to con- 


struct nearly every known form of canoe, and had 
boats which were sufficiently seaworthy to traverse 
wide stretches of open ocean. But they had never 
invented the true catamaran or the proa, and even 
the most skilled Indian boat-builders had not learned 
to use either keels or centerboards on their craft, 
nor had they hit upon oars as a means of propulsion. 
As a rule single-bladed paddles were used, where 
the waters were shoal the craft were poled along, 
and the Arowaks had adopted the double-bladed 
paddle. ‘For sails, the Indians used skins, cotton 


IMPLEMENTS, WEAPONS, ETC. 205 


cloth, plaited palm leaves, or matting. While many 
of their craft were swift before the wind, none were 
capable of working well to windward or of tacking. 
Only the most daring of Indian navigators ever ven- 
tured intentionally out of sight of land, and then 
solely for the purpose of fishing or whaling, as in 
the case of the Indians of Puget Sound and vicinity. 


CHAPTER XI 
HOME LIFE, FAMILY CUSTOMS, RECREATIONS 


T is quite true that among many of our North 
American tribes the men look upon manual labor 
as beneath their dignity and regard their squaws as 
inferior beings; but there are as many if not more 
tribes where the men labor far more strenuously than 
the women, and where the women are considered not 
only the equals but the superiors of meremen. Hiven 
in the case of those tribes where the squaws are the 
toilers, each sex has its allotted and recognized duties 
and work, and the women would be the first to resent 
any alteration in their traditional status. 

An Indian woman’s tongue is as sharp and scath- 
ing as that of her white sister, and she is not one 
to be put upon or abused. Let any unfortunate male 
overstep the bounds of age-old tribal custom, or add 
more than the allotted tasks to her, and her warrior 
spouse will find his home far too hot for his comfort. 

As a matter of fact few Indian women work as 
hard or as long or have as many tasks to perform 
as did our pioneer ancestors or our own farmers’ 
wives. They are in charge of the household (as na- 
ture intended women should be); they prepare and 
cook the food, raise the children, dress and cure the 


hides and skins, make and mend the clothing, look 
206 


HOME LIFE 207 


after the fires, and gather the fuel. They tend the 
gardens, make the baskets and pottery, and fashion 
the bead, quill, and other decorative work. When 
traveling, they are in charge of packing goods and 
chattels, erecting and taking down the tepees, and 
other moving-day duties. 

Enough work and to spare, you may say, but we 
must bear in mind that time is an almost unknown 
factor to the Indian, that the women’s hours are 
their own, that they are not obliged to watch the 
elock or listen for the noon hour whistle in order to 
have their meals ready on the minute, and that, as 
long as their work is done, it matters nothing when 
it is accomplished. Moreover, children are usually 
numerous about an Indian camp, and the little ‘‘In- 
juns’’ take as great a delight in imitating their elders 
as do white kiddies. Even a very young Indian can 
run errands, fetch and carry, and be of considerable 
help to his mother. Hence, despite their manifold 
duties, Indian women, even of those tribes where the 
men perform practically no manual labor, usually 
have plenty of time to devote to recreation, gossip, 
personal adornment, and similar matters. 

As a matter of fact, the men, even if they appear 
to do nothing, have an abundance of duties of their 
own to attend to. They are the providers of the 
community just as the white men, before the emanci- 
pation of woman and her trespass on man’s terri- 
tory, were the wage-earners of the family. They 
hunt and fish, not for pleasure but as a matter of 
business; they tramp, paddle, or ride far and hard 


208 “THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


in order to keep the larder well filled; and they ini 
in the game, often from long dibtatiood | 

In time of war, and with few exceptions that stats 
year in and year out, they underwent constant hard- 
ships and faced death at every turn. They could ill 
afford to overtax their muscles or tire themselves 
with unnecessary labor and thus be unfit to meet and 
battle with a foe who might appear at any moment. 

There were certain tasks which were theirs and 
which never fell to the lot of the squaws. No Indian 
would permit a woman to make his weapons; he 
made his own canoes; fashioned his own regalia, 
charms, fetishes and medicine, which were. often 
closely guarded secrets which no woman. could 
know. He attended to his ponies (if a horse In- 
dian), his flocks, or other livestock, and he had his 
duties as a lodge member, a councilor, a musician, 
and a dancer. 

But there was no uniformity 1 in the wines of the 
sexes of the various tribes, and no standard by which 
all could be judged. The division of labor and the 


social position of the women varied all the way from ~ 


one extreme to the other, from women’s being purely 
menials and entirely subservient to the men, to 
women’s being regarded as superiors, relieved of all 
work possible, and given an important voice in tribal 
matters. 

Even among many of our North American tribes, 
descent was by the female line and the ancestral tree 
was wholly maternal. Among the Central and South 
American tribes this was the general rule. To us, 
this system appears strange and most complicated 


/ i) HOME LIFE 209 


and confusing, for in cases where it is carried to the 
extreme and the male line is considered of no im- 
portance, marriage rules and regulations and family 
relationships are most complex and involved. 

Thus, among the Carib tribes, a woman of one 
family may marry a man of another family, but she 
cannot marry a man bearing the same family name 
as her own no matter how distant a relation he may 
be. As the woman’s father and husband will not bear 
her name she may marry her father’s brother, her 
husband’s brother, or any other member of either 
her husband’s or her father’s family. In fact she may 
even marry her own father as is occasionally done. 
As her children bear her name and not their father’s, 
the latter may marry his own daughter or grand- 
daughter or his brother’s daughter, although he can- 
not marry his sisters’ daughters, or his sisters’ 
brothers’ daughters, or even his mother’s sisters’ 
daughters. He is at liberty to marry his brother’s 
wife’s children or his wife’s sisters or brothers’ 
daughters. So, too, his children can marry into their 
father’s family, although prohibited from marrying 
any member of their mother’s family. 

Naturally, where such customs »revail, women 
hold an important position in the community and 
are regarded as the social equals or even the social 
superiors of the men. They do not hesitate to per- 
form their allotted labors because of their impor- 
tance, although their work is by no means as onerous 
as among the majority of North American tribes. 

The Indian of the tropics has a far easier job than 
his northern brothers when it comes to providing 


210 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


food for his family. Game and fish are abundant, 
crops may be raised throughout the year, there is no 
necessity for preparing a supply of provisions for 
the winter, and, as a rule, conflicts with other tribes 
are few and far between. 

As a result, the tropical Indian can eon much 
of his time to duties which in North America fall 
to the lot of the squaws. He clears the forests and 
prepares the fields for planting, he cuts and gathers 
the firewood, he helps cultivate the crops, he builds 
the houses, makes the boats, weaves baskets, makes 
his feather headdresses and ornaments, fashions 
his ceremonial costumes; he manufactures his 
Weapons, implements, and tools; carves wooden 
stools, idols, and other objects; twists the cotton into 
thread, yarn, and rope; helps his wife or wives look 
after the children; and is not above cooking his own 
meal if necessity arises.. 

Indeed, he even goes the limit and, if a member of 
a tribe where the couvade is customary, he acts as a 
proxy for his wife during childbirth and of his own 
free will undergoes all the pain, travail, and incon- 
venience of the event, thus permitting hig better half 
to go about her duties quite uninterrupted by the 
addition to the family. 

This practice of couvade is a most remarkable and 
interesting custom and is common to many South and 
Central American tribes, as well as to some tribes 
of North America. In all probability it had its origin 
in the Indian’s scheme to fool the devils and prevent 
evil spirits from entering the newborn child or the 
pregnant mother, the Indians believing that any par- 


HOME LIFE 211 


ticular devil who might be lurking about would be 
hoodwinked by the actions of the prospective father 
and would thus be decoyed from the expectant 
mother. 

Whatever the origin of the practice, or however 
ridiculous it appears to us, the Indians take it very 
seriously and regard it as vital. As the time ap- 
proaches when the infant is expected to make its 
first appearance in the world, the father takes to his 
hammock or his bed and goes through all the symp- 
toms of labor, while the mother scarcely ceases her 
accustomed duties and pays no more attention to the 
delivery of her child than she would to any every-: 
day event. Her husband, however, is doomed to re- 
main a semi-invalid in his hammock, carefully nursed 
and fed by the women, until the allotted period of 
time for his recovery has passed, when he again 
appears as a normal male among his fellows. 

Many a time I have had one of my Indians come 
to me and explain that he would be unable to work 
for a couple of weeks as his wife was going to have 
pickny, and while he lay in his hammock groaning, 
his wife would go about her duties with her newborn 
babe slung in its cotton carrier on her hip. 

What a pity it is that we civilized beings have not 
adopted the couvade, thereby relieving our women 
of the throes and pangs of childbirth and letting 
men learn by experience what it means! But per- 
haps it is just as well for the race that we have not 
followed the Indians in this respect, for had we done 
so, race suicide would have been sure to result. 

Among these tribes where the women are regarded 


912 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


with respect and where both sexes toil at their vari- 
ous tasks, the females are, as a rule, the physical as 
well as the social equals of the men and they perform 
fully as strenuous labors as their mates. With them 
it is always a case of share and share alike and life 
is on a fifty-fifty basis. When traveling, the women 
carry as heavy burdens as do the men; when in 
canoes they take their turns at paddle or pole. Even 
when fishing the men are often accompanied by their 
women who are as expert and ee in the work as 
are the males. 

Between the men and women of these tribes there 
is a delightful comradeship, a true partnership which 
should be a lesson to our own men and women. Often 
a woman will accompany her mate on a hunt, carry- 
ing the game and gathering edible or medicinal 
plants as she walks silently through the jungles. 
Often, too, one will see an Indian girl or woman 
siitiatted on a rock beside a stream as she watches 
her husband shooting fish in the rapids, and gazing 
with something akin to adoration at her brown- 
skinned, statuesque mate. 

And yet affection or love, as we know it, appears 
to be wholly lacking between the sexes of these In- 
dians. A man chooses his wife not for beauty nor 
love but for her skill as a cook, her ability as a 
housekeeper, or a hammock- or basket-maker, as a 
helpmate, and as a promising mother for his chil- 
dren. Rarely if ever are the two demonstrative nor 
do they show signs of affection by caresses or “other 
symptoms of love. 

Despite the fact that the women have a part in so 


HOME LIFE 213 


many of their men’s interests and occupations, there 
are hard and fast lines drawn, and women are barred 
from participating in many matters regarded as 
strictly pertaining to men, and vice versa. In a few 
dances women take part; but in ceremonials, in 
various festivities, and in councils no woman is al- 
lowed, save as a spectator or to pass around the 
calabashes of cassiri or other beverages. Neither is 
a woman permitted to touch or even to see a man’s 
charms, fetishes, or beenas. But the women have 
their innings, and men are absolutely taboo at many 
of their conferences, festivities, and gatherings, and 
a woman’s private fetishes and charms are just as 
closely guarded from male eyes or hands as are those 
of the men from woman’s proverbial curiosity. 

Curiously enough, too, although many of these In- 
dians of both sexes are nearly or quite nude, mixed 
bathing is not permitted. In fact I do not know of 
any tribe where men and women bathe together. 
And despite their nudity, Indians are very modest 
according to their lights. A woman may wear only 
a tiny four-inch square of beadwork as her entire 
costume, but never would she dream of dispensing 
with it when there was the slightest chance of any 
one’s being near, not even when bathing. A man 
- who wears only a scanty breechcloth, a G string or 
less, would feel disgraced and terribly embarrassed 
should he be seen without his fragmentary bit of 
apparel. 

Even more emancipated than the women of any 
of these tribes are the females of certain Central 
American tribes such as the San Blas confederation 


214 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


of Panama. Among these Indians not only is descent 
by the maternal line, but the women are regarded as 
paramount. A man is the virtual slave of his father- 
in-law until he has a daughter. The women of the 
family own everything. A man actually owns only 
his weapons, his canoe, and his hammock, together 
with his ceremonial regalia and his personal fetishes, 
and he cannot sell, trade, or dispose of anything 
without the consent of his women folk. 

Among these Indians women take part in coun- 
cils; they have their say, and say it, in all important 
matters; they disregard the orders of their ehiefs 
with impunity; and they are most carefully watched 
over, guarded, and protected by the men, who re- 
gard their women as little less than sacred. 

We should not be misled into thinking that woman 
suffrage was confined to the Indians of tropical 
America. Among the Iroquois, women held as high 
and as independent a position as among the San 
Blas. As was the case with many tribes in North 
America, Iroquois descent was by the female or 
maternal line and the Iroquois women had a power 
even greater than that of the men. They were the 
owners of the land and of the family’s personal prop- 
erty, they were councilors of the confederation, and 
at times were even chiefs or perhaps better, chibi 
tainesses. 

This old-time system still prevails among the clv- 
ilized Iroquois and has often led to legal troubles 
and court actions. According to the tribal customs 
of the present-day Senecas, a half-breed child whose 
father is a white man is considered an Indian, 


HOME LIFE 215 


whereas if the mother is white, the child is consid- 
ered white and is not allowed to participate in Indian 
affairs or to share in the tribal annuities. In the 
same way, in the case of marriage between Indians 
of the Iroquois and other tribes, the children are 
classed as belonging to the tribe of which the mother 
is a member. Almost the same conditions prevailed 
among many other North American tribes and many 
a mighty chief has been forced to bow to a woman’s 
will, as witness the historical even if somewhat leg- 
endary episode of Pocahontas and Captain Smith. 

It all depends very largely upon the tribal customs 
and traditions, as well as the political organization of 
the tribes. Where descent is by the female line 
women must of necessity hold a higher place in all 
matters than where the male ancestry is all impor- 
tant. If the chieftainship is inherited and relation- 
ship is traced through the maternal side of the 
family, the ruler’s female relatives will have a 
greater influence in matters of state than his male 
relatives. 

While we are accustomed to think of all Indians 
as ruled by chiefs who were absolute monarchs, yet, 
in the majority of cases, the chief’s powers were 
limited and in important matters a council was held 
in order to reach a decision. Many tribes were al- 
most republican in government, and chiefs and coun- 
cilors were elected by popular vote and could be 
summarily deposed at the will of the people. Still 
others were socialistic and communistic with no true 
chiefs and with a triumvirate or council of men ad- 
ministering the laws of the tribe. 


216 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


In many cases, also, a number of tribes, often 
closely related but sometimes of different racial 
stocks, joined forces and formed a confederation. 
Such was the case with the Aztec, Mayan and Incan 
empires, the famous Five Nations—(later the Six 
Nations) of New York State, the Powhatan con- 
federacy of Virginia, the Sioux confederation, and 
many other closely united groups of tribes in North, 
South, and Central America and the Antilles. 

Very often so-called tribes were merely subtribes 
or even clans, for like all primitive races, the Amer- 
ican Indians were very clannish. Just as there was 
ill feeling or devoted allegiance between the various 
Scottish and Irish clans, so there were ancient feuds 
and ancient feaeridshini between the Indian clans, 
even though they sprang from common ancestry. In- 
stead of the plaid or tartan which denoted the clan of 
the Highlanders, the Indians adopted various birds, 
animals, or other objects as emblems or totems of 
their clans. These served as means of identification, 
as escutcheons, and as challenges to their enemies, 
and were tattooed or painted on the skin, woven into 
designs on clothing, carved in wood or stone, painted 
on pottery, or displayed in various other ways. 

At times a clan might be nearly wiped out, and 
for self-preservation the survivors would be forced 
to join some other clan or even a different tribe. In 
the former case the clanship of the majority would 
in time prevail, and the clan of the refugees would 
become almost submerged and of secondary im- 
portance politically and socially. In the latter case 
a clan and the clan’s totem would be introduced 


HOME LIFE 217 


among tribesmen of a distinct race and might in time 
serve to ally two very diverse tribes. In the case 
of tribes where the maternal ancestry was alone pre- 
served, the women’s totems would be the only ones 
to survive; if the male line was important only the 
men’s totems were perpetuated; among other tribes 
both sides of the families stuck to their totems. A 
totem pole, a bead apron, or a carving may be a 
complete family history or an ancestral tree with 
figures and emblems of dozens of clans embodied in 
the design. Many tribes were polygamous and some 
were polyandrous, yet others were strictly monoga- 
mous. All of this led to a confusion of clans, totems, 
and relationships. Moreover, it is a widely diffused 
custom among the Indians to keep secret the true 
name of a person. A child’s real name is known 
only to one or two people, often the godmother and 
the medicine man, and to the person himself, and on 
no account must the name ever be spoken or di- 
vulged, lest evil spirits learn of it and take posses- 
sion of the nominee. Hence each man and woman 
will bear two or more names, one the true or secret 
name, the other the ordinary or convenience name, 
still other names or really nicknames being added or 
adopted in order to perpetuate some event, deed, or 
feat. Thus we often hear of an Indian under two 
or more distinct names, such as Falling Leaves and 
Many Bears, the one being the name by which he 
was known in youth, the other the name bestowed in 
token of his prowess as a bear-hunter, while his true 
or third name is never uttered or referred to. 

This has led to much confusion, the more especially 


MusicaL INSTRUMENTS 


DRUMS 
1. Drum, Coclé Indians, Pan- 6. Zufii Drum of Pottery and 
ama Drumstick, United States 
2. Drum, ‘Talamancas, Costa 7. Chokoi Drum, Panama 
Rica 8. Drum of Hollowed Log, 
3. Drum, Bri-bri, Costa Rica Brazil 
4. Water Drum, Potawatomi, 9. Tahltan Drum, United 
United States States 
5. Square Drum and Drumstick, 10. Carib Drum and Bone Drum- 
Korok, United States stick, Guiana 


RATTLES, FLUTES, ETO. 


. Rawhide Rattle, Apache 

Rawhide Rattle, Sioux 

Rawhide Rattle, Hopi 

Rawhide Rattle, Cheyenne 

. Rawhide Rattle, Pueblo 

. Horn) Rattle, Hopi 

. Rawhide Rattle, Kiowa 

. Rattle of Deer Hoofs, Kiowa 

. Wooden Rattle, Haida 

10. Wooden Rattle, Seri 

11. Wooden Rattle, Yaqui 

12, Basketry Rattle, Arowak (Guiana ) 

13. Calabash Rattle, Carib (Guiana) 

14. Basketry Rattle, Quilleute, United States 
15. Buckskin and Metal Rattle, Pueblo 

16. Shell Rattle, Haida 

17-18. Bark Rattles, Iroquois 

19. Rattle of Seeds, Arowak (Guiana) 

20. Bone Flute, Carib (Guiana) 

91-22. Wooden Flutes, Bella-Bella, United States 
23. Wooden Dance Trumpet, Akawoia (Guiana ) 
24, Flute, Sioux 

25. Double Flute of Wood, Haida 

26. Wooden Trumpet, Cayapo (Brazil) 

27. Whistle of Ant Eater Skull, Guaymi (Panama) | 
28. Flute, Kickapoo 

29. Flute, Caddo, United States 

30. Zufii Flute 

31. Flageolet, Chokoi (Colombia) 

32. Clay Orcherina, Guaymi (Panama) 

33. Clay Whistle, Taruma (Brazil) 

34. Bone Flute, San Blas (Panama) 

35. Panpipes, Various Tribes . 

36. Bird Whistle of Clay, Guaymi (Panama) 


CO CO STO? CN G9 DO 


220 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


as the English form of a name may be identical 
among members of distinct tribes, even if quite dif- 
ferent in the Indian dialects. But just as in olden 
days a man named John might be identified and 
placed by his clan relationship, as John McCarty, 
so a Many Bears may be readily identified by the 
addition of his clan totem, which might be a turtle, 
in which case he would be Many Bears Turtle or 
Many Bears of the Turtle clan. 

As a general rule, an Indian regarded his clan 
emblem or totem as sacred and he could not kill or 
injure the bird or quadruped which represented his 
clan. In other cases, tribes traced their origin to 
eertain beasts or birds, or to the intermarriage of 
man and other creatures, and hence held such birds 
or beasts sacred. Thus the Caribs claim to be the 
descendants of a man and a king vulture and as a 
symbol or totem they wear a tuft of the white down 
of the king vulture on their foreheads. As they 
regard the birds as sacred and cannot kill them but 
are forced to secure the down from captured birds, 
and as it is an exceedingly difficult matter to trap a 
king vulture, many of the Caribs overcome the diffi- 
culty by substituting a bit of white fur or the white 
down from a heron or other bird for the genuine 
article. | 

Very often an Indian will from necessity or other- 
wise be forced to kill a creature regarded as sacred. 
In such case he will apologize for his deed, explain 
why it was necessary and make offerings to placate 
the offended spirit of the dead creature. 

Among many tribes it was customary to make pris- 


—. + “ 


HOME LIFE 221 


oners of the women of tribes worsted in battles and 
to adopt these females into the tribe and marry them. 
As these captives seldom spoke the dialect of their 
captors this custom led to the strange condition of 
distinct languages for the men and the women of a 
tribe. While the women usually spoke and under- 
stood both dialects, the men were ignorant of the 
women’s tongue, which was kept more or less secret 
and was taught only to the female offspring. 

As among many tribes the struggle for existence 
was severe, and as aged and infirm members of the 
community were a hindrance to all, especially in time 
of war or when traveling, it was customary for many 
tribes to dispose of such useless members of society. 
They were seldom murdered or put out of the way 
in cold blood; but, instead, the Indians salved their 
consciences and left the matter to their gods to 
decide. RS ae 

When a person became too feeble and helpless 
from age or disease to remain with the tribe, he or 
she was handed over to the spirits. Sometimes he 
was placed in a canoe and sent adrift on a river above 
a cataract, or he might be left alone in a tiny hut in 
the forest with a small quantity of food and water, 
the Indians arguing that if the gods wished the help- 
less one to live they would see to it that he did not go 
over the falls or starve, and that if he met death by 
the cataract or starvation it proved the gods desired 
him to die. 

Fortunately for those concerned, and for the peace 
of mind of the gods, few Indians reached the stage 
where they were incumbrances. As a rule, the In- 


222 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


dian came to a violent death through battle, wild 
animals, or accident long before it was time for the 
gods to decide his or her fate. 

Despite popular ideas to the contrary, Indians as 
a whole are not long-lived. Occasionally an Indian 
lives to reach the century mark or more. I know one 
old Arowak chief who, if he has not died during the 
past year, is well over 110 years of age, and, when 
last I saw him, he was as stalwart, lively, and well as 
ever. But such are exceptional cases and from my 
own observations I should say that the average span 
of life of the Indian, taking those of North, South, 
and Central America together, is nearer two score 
and ten than the allotted three score and ten years. 

Not only are Indians, in their native state, exposed 
to constant dangers from savage beasts, human ene- 
mies, drowning and other accidents; but they do not 
withstand serious illness, and, lacking antiseptics, 
often die of trivial wounds. Moreover, they are ex- 
ceedingly susceptible to the white man’s diseases, 
and measles, whooping cough, chicken and smallpox, 
tuberculosis, and influenza are almost invariably 
fatal to the Indians. Liquor, too, has played a large 
part in Indian mortality. Their own bevérages con- 
tain a very small percentage of alcohol-and must be 
taken in immense quantities to produce intoxication; 
but the fiery liquor of the white men, which is usually 
of the worst quality and rank poison when supplied 
to the Indians, plays havoc with them. 

In his primitive state, and before he has come into 
contact with civilization, the Indian is usually sober, 
except for occasional sprees during ceremonial fes- 


iy, YG Yorn 
1% VEE LL 


Pires, IMPLEMENTS, ETC. 


1. Medicine Man’s Staff, San 12. Calumet, Oto 

Blas (Panama) 13. Peace Pipe or Calumet, Cree 
2. Pipe, Wichita 14. Adze with Bone Handle, 
3. Pipe, Wichita Quilleute 
4. Pipe, Catawba 15. Adze, Salish 
5. Pipe, Penobscot 16. Bone Bank or Purse, Kurok 
6. Pipe, Catawba 17. Stool, Talamanca (Costa 
7. Pipe, Miami Rica) 
8. Pipe, Winnebago 18. Stool, San Blas (Panama) 
9. Pipe, Potawatomi 19. Stool, Carib (Surinam) 
10. Pipe, Guaymi (Panama) 20. Stool, Shayshan (Panama) 
11. Pipe, Haida 21. Stool, Chokoi (Colombia) 


223 


224 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


tivities, and is moral and honest. He may consider 
stealing from an enemy a just and honorable deed, 
but he will neither lie to a friend nor steal from him. 
He is not the filthy, vermin-infested creature we find 
on the outskirts of civilization and about our Indian 
reservations. But with rum, white men’s vices and 
diseases, and with garments of civilization, which are 
seldom washed and which afford refuge for vermin, 
the Indian becomes a dirty, degraded vagabond and 
soon falls a victim to the effects of his acquired 
habits. 

Indian families as a rule are not large, and even 
among the remote and primitive tribes infant mor- 
tality is high. As a result, many tribes have com- 
pletely disappeared and others are on the verge of 
extinction. 

But the Indian is a born fatalist and believes in 
enjoying life while he may. We picture him as a 
taciturn, grim-visaged, stoical fellow; but he puts 
on this mask for the occasion, and at heart and at 
home is good natured, fond of fun and practical 
jokes, of story-telling and of games. He is a born 
gambler, and hence games of chance, races, and any 
sport on which he can bet are his favorites. La- 
crosse, hockey, handball, battledore and shuttlecock, 
dice, cup and pin, hoop and pole, jackstones, marbles, 
card games, draughts, and innumerable games of 
Indian origin are played with the greatest enthusi- 
asm and excitement. The children go wild over 
spinning tops, flying kites, and other juvenile amuse- 
ments. But of all sports, the average Indian is most 
partial to athletic contests, tests qf PE aielip 


Aen 


HOME LIFE 225 


and endurance, for those are the matters upon which 
the Indian’s existence depends. : 

Most Indians are fond of music. We always asso- 
ciate Indian music with the beating of booming tom- 
toms and barbaric discords, but much of the true In- 
dian music is plaintive, harmonious, and appealing. 
They are by no means limited to the savage drum, 
shrill fifes, and shaking rattles for producing their 
music. Flutes and piccolo-like instruments are com- 
mon; many tribes make orcherinas with exceedingly 
sweet and mellow tones. Panpipes are known and 
used by hundreds of tribes; instruments resembling 
jew’s-harps are widely used; the Caribs and a few 
other tribes possess stringed instruments much like 
fiddles; the Aimaras have guitars made from arma- 
dillo carapaces; and among some tribes of South 
America eolian harps are to be found beside nearly 
every house. The white man’s music appeals to the 
Indian fully as much as does his own, and to-day it 
is not unusual to find battered phonographs grind- 
ing out scratchy, obsolete harmonies in the most re- 
mote Indian villages. 


CHAPTER XII 
WHOM THE WHITE MEN FOUND 


HEN Columbus first reached the West Indies, 

he found the Antilles inhabited by many 
thousands of natives belonging to innumerable 
tribes, each tribe speaking a different dialect and 
having distinct customs and habits. When, later, 
the Spaniards reached the mainland and cruised 
along the shores of Central and South America, they 
found Indians everywhere, and the great number of 
tribes and the multiplicity of dialects were a never 
ending source of wonder to the Kuropeans. 

The same was true of the aborigines whom the 
British, French, and Dutch found inhabiting the 
coastal districts of North America from Florida to 
Labrador. Wherever they went they met Indians 
who were divided into many tribes and subtribes, 
and who spoke many different tongues. All were 
alike in one respect: all were uncivilized. All were 
primitive, all used stone tools and weapons, and 
although some were agricultural, others hunters, 
others fishermen, although some were peaceful and 
timid and others proud, bold, and warlike, yet all 
were, broadly speaking, savages with no ideas of 
civilization. 

When the Spaniards visited Mexico, Yucatan, and 

226 


WHOM THE WHITE MEN FOUND 227 


the west coast of South America, they found Indians 
of a very different sort. Here were the Aztecs, the 
Mayas, and the Incas—civilized people who had 
reached a high state of culture, who had performed 
wonderful engineering feats, who had a knowledge of 
astronomy, who had written or sculptured histories, 
and who had built marvelous cities with imposing 
and magnificent buildings. 

Still later, when the European explorers pene- 
trated the western plains and deserts of North 
America, they met thousands of Indians who were, 
even to the unobservant eyes of the adventurers, very 
different from those of the east, of the Antilles, or 
of tropical America. Many of these were nomads, 
wandering from place to place, subsisting by hunting 
and possessing a far more independent and warlike 
nature than the eastern and southern tribes, but like 
them divided into many tribes and speaking many 
dialects. 

Finally, in the Southwest, the Europeans found 
the industrious, peaceful Pueblos with their many- 
storied adobe towns. They formed, as it were, a 
sort of connecting link between the roving, primitive 
tribes of North America and the civilized Indians of 
Mexico. 

In nearly every case the Europeans were welcomed 
by the Indians, who showed every sign of friendship, 
presented the newcomers with gifts, treated them 
hospitably, and often regarded them with the rev- 
erence due to gods or supernatural beings. But the 
Huropeans soon found that Indians varied as much 
in temperament and character as in languages and 


228 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


other matters. The natives of the Bahamas, whom 
Columbus first met, were gentle, timid people who 
bowed themselves before the Spaniards and fairly 
groveled at their feet. In Santo Domingo and 
Cuba the natives, although friendly, were far more 
independent and proud and ‘were inclined to be sus- 
picious of the newcomers, and in the Lesser Antilles 
the fierce, cannibal Caribs would have nothing to do 
with the white men and, taking to the woods, kept 
away from the Dons whenever possible. : 

The Spaniards, however, were far more interested 
in securing gold and other riches than in the study 
of ethnology, and while their wonder was aroused 
at sight of these new people and the many marvelous 
and new things they constantly found, and while they 
often mentioned the Indians and their ways in their 
writings, yet they left no marth or complete records 
of their observations. — 

Regardless of how the Indians treated them, they 
treated all the aborigines alike. When Columbus 
and the others required interpreters they helped 
themselves to the natives and carried them off as 
captives, and wherever they went they took what 
they desired from the Indians, enslaved them, and 
destroyed them without mercy. LHven the civilized 
races did not escape the rapacity of the Europeans. 
Their cities were sacked, their kings murdered, their 
people enslaved, and their records, histories, and 
everything else were ruthlessly destroyed. © | 

As a result, many tribes were completely wiped 
out within a few years after the discovery of Amer- 
ica, and we know very little about the races, the num- 


WHOM THE WHITE MEN FOUND = 229 


ber of Indians, the customs of the aborigines, or the 
dialects, as they existed at the time the Europeans 
first overran the New World. Countless records, 
journals, diaries, and accounts written by the 
early discoverers, by explorers, and adventurers, 
have been preserved. In many if not most of these 
mention is made of Indians and Indian ways. 
But such references are fragmentary, and owing to 
the ignorance of the writers, their erroneous assump- 
tions, their carelessness and confusion in spelling 
Indian names and words, and their superficial inter- 
est and observation, these records are contradictory 
and are largely of doubtful scientific value. The 
same holds true of the British, Dutch, French, and 
other voyagers and pioneers. 

Only when some unusual or particularly omnia 
able event occurred did the Europeans see fit to 
record matters in detail. Such an episode as that 
of Pocahontas aroused interest and was set down 
at length, and Captain John Smith, who was the 
central figure in that romantic event, was a far more 
meticulous writer than the majority of his fellows. 
He took an unusual interest in the Indians, and to 
him we owe much of our meager knowledge of the 
Virginian and West Indian aborigines. But even 
Smith was vague in many of his references to Indian 
tribes and customs, and often contradicted himself. 

Sir Walter Raleigh also featured the Indians in 
his writings, but Raleigh was a past master of 
romantic fiction and was a most credulous individual. 
He wrote of headless tribes, claw-handed Indians, 


230 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


Amazons, and their ilk, and very little reliance can 
be placed on any of his accounts. 

Many of the priests and missionaries who accom- 
panied the early voyagers wrote voluminously of 
the ‘‘heathen’’ savages of the New World; but in 
most cases their point of view was warped, they were 
more concerned with the souls than with the bodies 
and lives of the Indians, and aside from the works of 
Las Casas, who was the best friend the Indians of 
the time ever had, and of a few other worthy monks, 
the records of the clerics of those days contain little 
of ethnological value. 

Oddly enough, the men whom we would ‘eta ex- 
pect to leave scientific records of the Indians were 
those who gave us the most detailed and accurate 
accounts of the aborigines. These were the early 
buccaneers, and in the writings of Esquemeling, 
Dampier, Wafer, Ringrose, and other piratical char- 
acters are detailed and reliable descriptions of many 
Indian tribes, their customs, habits, dialects, appear- 
ance, ceremonials, and other peculiarities. 

Taken all in all, we have very little trustworthy in- 
formation regarding the American Indians whom 
the white men found when they first visited the west- 
ern hemisphere, or for many years thereafter. We 
know that there was a vast number of tribes, sub- 
tribes, and nations; that innumerable dialects were 
in use; that in character, physical characteristics, 
occupations, religions, beliefs, home life, customs, 
government, ceremonials, temperament, and many 
other ways the Indians varied tremendously. But 
we have no means of knowing how many Indians in- 


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WHOM THE WHITE MEN FOUND © 231 


habited America or even any portions of it. That it 
was not by any means densely inhabited we may be 
sure. Vast areas were almost without inhabitants, 
and while many tribes have been completely extermi- 
nated since the arrival of Europeans, yet it is doubt- 
ful if there were more Indians on the mainland of 
North and South America than at the present time, 
although unquestionably there were more tribes. 

In fact, the multiplicity of tribes at the time of 
the advent of Europeans was truly remarkable, for, 
even allowing for repetitions and confusion due to 
the Europeans’ inability to pronounce or write In- 
dian names intelligently, dozens of tribes were found 
dwelling in most circumscribed areas. Sometimes 
neighboring tribes were on friendly terms, others 
had formed offensive and defensive alliances, others 
had joined and had organized confederacies, and in 
some cases many related or even unrelated tribes had 
combined to form nations. — 

As a rule, each tribe was suspicious of its neigh- 
bors, and intertribal wars and conflicts were preva- 
lent. This condition made it all the easier for the 
white men to destroy and enslave the Indians. The 
seemingly phenomenal success of the early Euro- 
peans and their comparatively easy victories over 
far greater numbers of Indians were largely due to 
the ancient enmities between tribes. The white men 
took advantage of these, playing one tribe against 
another, and usually making a clean job of it by 
killing off their allies once they were through with 
need of their services. 

The arms and superior equipment and training of 


232 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


the white. men were not the greatest factors in con- 
quering and destroying countless thousands of In- 
dians in the space of'a few years. Along with the 
European, soldiers, sailors, adventurers, and others, 
came. Hiuropean diseases and vices, and these spread 
like wildfire among Indians. Diseases to which, 
through centuries, the white men had become so ac- 
customed that they were practically immune, became 
malignant when contracted by the Indians. Measles, 
whooping’ cough, mumps, chicken pox, smallpox, 
tuberculosis, and venereal diseases killed the Indians 
off like flies. 

Civilization, acquired by or forced upon the 
aborigines, did almost if not quite as much. The 
naked Indians, unaccustomed to clothing, their bodies 
exposed to sun and air, and easily kept clean, donned 
the cast-off garments of the white men, and became 
diseased, vermin infested, and sickly. Accustomed 
to an active out-of-doors life, the Indians, forced to 
labor as slaves or as servants, sleeping in kennel- 
like quarters, subsisting on strange foods and those 
of the poorest quality, pined away and died. And 
the strong aleoholic drinks of the white men stalked 
like specters among the Indians and brought drunk- 
enness, debauchery, and death wherever they went. 

As aresult of all this, many tribes and entire races 
vanished forever so soon after the discovery of 
America that no one had time to record their ways, 
their languages, or their relationships, even had they 
been so minded... Only the strongest, the most numer- 
ous, and the most warlike Indians survived, and only 
by these, by the meager records left by the destroyers 


WHOM THE WHITE MEN FOUND 233 


of nations, and by the all too few remains left by the 
tribes who vanished, can we build up any sort of idea 
of the Indians whom the Europeans found when they 
first came to the New World. | | 

_ Time, too, has wrought many and tremendous 
changes in Indian characters, habits, customs, arts, 
and other matters. It must be remembered that 
styles and fashions alter among Indians as among 
white races. At the time of the advent of Euro- 
peans, the Indians, where they used clothing at all, 
clad themselves in skins, robes, hand-woven cotton 
or woolen cloth, and feathers. Many of the north- 
ern tribes, during the severe winters, wore coats and 
trousers of skins with the fur on, and during the 
summer went partly nude. Others depended upon 
the soft tanned hides of deer, moose, and other ani- 
mals, and wore well designed garments of this 
leather, and when the weather was cold added robes 
or blankets of skin, feathers, or fur. Farther south, 
the Indians had learned to spin and weave cotton, 
and wore garments made of cotton cloth. In the 
Andes llama wool was the material used for weaving 
cloth and making clothing. 

Regardless of the locality, the tribe, or the mate- 
rials used for their garments, the American Indians, 
throughout the length and breadth of the two con- 
tinents and in the West Indies, almost without ex- 
ception, were partial to feather ornaments and 
headdresses. No other race in the world was so uni- 
versally given to wearing feathers and the Indians 
had become marvelously expert in feather-work of 
all kinds. Not only were feathers used as decora- 


234 THH AMERICAN INDIAN 


tions and ornaments, but also as regalia, as badges 
or marks of office, as indications of rank, as proof 
of bravery and great deeds, for ceremonial purposes, 
and as symbols. 

Each tribe, even in the ola days, had its aisihe 
tive feather headdresses, which varied in design, 
color, and other details according to the purpose for 
which they were used. Many of these are described 
in the old accounts of the Indians, and many are 
figured in old prints. Some are easily recognizable 
and are similar to those used to-day, but many are 
totally different from any of the present time. No 
doubt most of these old pictures were made by 
artists who had never seen an Indian, and who 
worked wholly from descriptions and imagination 
and hence depicted costumes which never existed. 
But Indian fashions changed, and a tribe might use 
one type of costume and feather headdress one year 
and quite a different style the next. Hence we can- 
not say positively just what costumes were or were 
not worn at any given period in Indian history. 

There is no doubt that the customs and costumes, 
as well as the mode of life of the Indians, were 
greatly influenced and altered by the arrival of the 
Europeans. Trade cloth, beads, bells, metals, fire- 
arms, steel tools, pipes, and innumerable other 
articles of European make were bartered with the 
Indians or given to them as presents, and very 
rapidly these things found their way by exchange 
and trade to the most remote tribes, whom the white 
men had never seen. The Indians, partly through 
vanity and partly in an effort to please the strangers 


1 
: 
:: 
: 
| 
4 


WHOM THE WHITH MEN FOUND _ 235 


and to placate the priests, adopted or imitated the 
Kuropeans’ ways, habits, and dress. As a result, 
HKuropean influence became manifest among nearly 
all the Indian tribes. In studying collections of 
ethnological specimens it is easy to distinguish the 
alteration from purely Indian art to art obviously 
influenced by the Huropean invasion, usually to the 
detriment of the former. 

Hiven the manner of life of the Indians changed 
with the arrival of the white men. With steel tools 
and European example and influence, the Indians 
learned to accomplish many feats which had hitherto 
been beyond them. They copied utensils, houses, 
clothing, and even mingled the white men’s beliefs, 
superstitions, stories, games, religions, myths, and 
customs with their own. Oftentimes, this wrought 
tremendous changes in the Indians’ characters, mode 
of life, habits, and costumes. 

Although at first afraid of the horses brought to 
America by the Europeans, the Indians soon became 
accustomed to the animals and learned to use those 
which escaped from the white masters or which were 
captured in warfare. Our plains Indians and the 
Mapuches of Chile, in particular, took to horses as 
a duck takes to water, and in an incredibly short 
space of time became true horse Indians, wonderful 
riders, owners of large herds of horses, and far more 
powerful, more warlike, and more dangerous than 
before the advent of the Europeans. In adapting 
themselves to the use of horses many changes in 
their methods, customs, dress, and other matters 
came into effect. In fact, the most characteristic 


236 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


features and peculiarities of the horse-Indian tribes 
have been acquired and developed since the Huro- 
pean invasion, and we can scarcely picture what 
these Indians were like in the days when horses were 
unknown to them. 

On the other hand, the European settlers adopted 
many of the Indians’ ways, customs, and even their 
costumes. They found moccasins and buckskin 
clothing the cheapest, most durable, and most prac- 
tical of apparel in the woods and on the plains of 
North America. The Spaniards took to the poncho 
and the heavy woolen garments of the Andean tribes 
as readily and as quickly as the Indians fashioned 
gauntlets, gloves, skull caps, and hats in imitation 
of those used by the Dons. Indian hunting, fishing, 
and agricultural methods were followed by the white 
pioneers; Indian canoes became their favorite craft. 
They even followed the Indians’ example and took 
scalps when they killed their enemies. 

Many of the white men took Indian women as 
mates, or legally married them, and very soon half- 
breeds became numerous. Some of these reverted 
to the Indian life and customs, and soon became 
wholly Indian. Others followed the life and ways 
of their white parents, and in a few generations all 
traces of Indian ancestry were lost. Still more 
adopted some of the Indian ways and some of the 
white man’s ways and were as much half-breeds in 
life, customs, and all other matters as they were in 
blood. 

Many tribes which had been decimated by disense 
gppression, or warfare, or which were too weak in 


WHOM THE WHITE MEN FOUND _ 237 


numbers to resist the whites, joined their forces with 
friendly tribes and completely lost their identity: 
while in other cases two or more tribes joining would 
retain the former names of both and would thus be 
known sometimes by one tribal name and sometimes 
by another. All of this led to endless confusion. 
Moreover, it very often happened that a tribe which 
had been hostile to the whites or had fought against 
them, would assume an alias in order to avoid recog- 
nition and reprisals at the hands of their enemies. 
At other times an Indian would declare himself a 
member of some tribe which was totally distinct from 
his own and friendly with the white men. Thus, 
after the so-called Bacon’s Rebellion of Virginia, in 
1675-77, the few surviving Rappahannock Indians 
denied their identity in order to escape persecution, 
and the tribe was considered extinct, although, as a 
matter of fact, there were many fugitives belonging 
to the tribe and the tribe still exists in considerable 
numbers. 

But despite the wholesale slaughter and destruc- 
tion carried on by Europeans throughout America, 
despite the ravages of disease and liquor, despite the 
intermingling of white and Indian blood, and despite 
the influence which the Europeans exerted on Indian 
customs, arts, industries, and life, even despite all 
efforts to Christianize and civilize the Indians, many 
tribes have survived, have increased, and have re- 
tained their solidarity and their independence, while 
still more have managed to retain their ancestral 
characteristics, customs, dialects, arts, and habits. 

To-day, many tribes in North America and far 


238 THE AMERICAN INDIAN | 


more tribes in Central and South America are living 
almost as they lived before Columbus landed on 
American soil. Many are as primitive as before the 
advent of Europeans, and many have never seen a 
white man and have never adopted any of the ways 
or few products of civilization. 

Even where the Indians have been in constant and 
close touch with the white man, and are within easy 
reach of civilization, many still retain their ancestral 
ways. Though they may wear conventional clothing, 
though they may be Christians, may be educated in 
schools and colleges, may dwell in modern up-to-date 
houses, may have well-cultivated, valuable farms, 
and may even drive about in luxurious motor cars, 
still they hold their tribal dances and ceremonials, 
speak their own languages, and are Indian at heart. 


CHAPTER XIII 
INDIANS OF OUR EASTERN WOODLANDS 


wa the Puritans first visited New England, 
they found the country inhabited by a num- 
ber of tribes which to-day are grouped under the 
more or less general term of Eastern Algonquins, 
owing to the fact that these tribes all spoke dialects 
of the Algonquin language. Among these were the 
Narragansets, Pequots, Mohegans or Mohicans of 
the southern New England states, the Delawares or 
Lenni-Lenape of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the 
Nanticokes of Delaware, the Powhatan confederated 
tribes of Virginia, and the Shawnees of Kentucky. 

To-day only a few scattered remnants of these 
tribes remain in their ancient homes, the majority 
having vanished forever, while many of the Dela- 
wares and Shawnees have migrated to Canada and 
Oklahoma. Of all these Eastern Algonquins, the 
Mohicans near Norwich, Connecticut, and the Rap- 
pahannocks of Virginia are the only ones who still 
occupy their ancestral homes in any numbers, and 
who retain any of their old mode of life and tribal 
customs. 

All of these tribes were agricultural, and fishing 
and hunting were merely to help out the larder and 


supply hides and furs. Their fields, in which many 
239 


240 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


varieties of corn, beans, pumpkins, squashes, sweet 
potatoes, and tobacco were raised, were compara- 
tively small, and their only agricultural implements 
were digging sticks and crude stone, bone, or wooden 
hoes. The tremendous task of felling trees and 
clearing the forest was performed oe stone-headed 
axes. 

Corn was probably their mainstay, and ‘ae In- 
dians possessed practically all the varieties known 
to us to-day. Not only was corn eaten roasted and 
boiled on the ear, and as popped corn; but the In- 
dians also prepared hominy, hulled corn, and Indian 
meal, using mortars with wooden or stone pestles 
for grinding the maize. 

Depending as they did upon agriculture, these 
- tribes dwelt in established villages and moved only 
when their fields were exhausted and firewood be- 
came scarce. This was in marked contrast to the 
tribes who depended upon hunting and were forced 
to keep constantly moving about as game became 
wary and scarce. . 

Still, the Eastern Algonquins were noted as 
hunters. In their pursuit of game they used flat, 
stout bows about five feet in length and of rectangu- 
lar section, with three-foot arrows well feathered, 
indented near the nock to give a finger hold, and 
with heads adapted to the type of game for which 
they were used. For small game and birds the 
arrows were knob headed, and for larger game were 
tipped with stone heads or points of deer antlers. 
After the arrival of Europeans, these were largely 
superseded by points of metal. 


| 
: 


INDIANS OF OvuR EASTERN WooDLANDS 


1. Eastern Algonquins 


2. Iroquois 
3. Indians of Northeastern New England 


4, Central Algonquins 


241 


242 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


As weapons, they also used clubs carved from 
hardwood and with globular heads. These soon gave 
way to the trade tomahawks or hatchets of the colo- 
nists. For fishing they used spears, nets, rude hooks, 
basketry traps, weirs, and pounds. In wintertime 
snowshoes were used, but these were never so im- 
portant to these tribes as to those farther north. 

Canoes of birch bark were used, though sparingly, 
by the tribes inhabiting the northerly portions of 
their district, and elm-bark canoes were also used ; 
but the typical craft of the Eastern Algonquins were 
dugouts. 

Their dwellings were of three distinct forms: one 
a dome-shaped wigwam covered with slabs of bark, 
mats of rushes, or grass thatch; the second a rec- 
tangular gable-roofed house made of bark slabs 
sewed to a pole framework, and the third a rectan- 
gular house with arched roof. The typical Indian 
tepee or wigwam was not known to any of these 
tribes. 

For household utensils these Indians had wooden 
bowls, ladles, mortars, and other things; baskets of 
many sizes and forms; vessels made from dried 
gourds; mats of woven rushes and a variety of rather 
coarse textiles of native flax and the fibrous inner 
bark of the slippery elm. Rather crude pottery was 
also made and used to some extent. , 

In the summer, the men wore a breechcloth, leg- 
gings, and moccasins of buckskin, and the women 
dressed in a short skirt open at the side, and buck- 
skin moccasins and leggings. Both sexes went nude 
above the waist during warm weather, but wore 


INDIANS OF EASTERN WOODLANDS 243 


capes, robes, and mantles of skins with the fur or 
hair on during the winter, and wore buckskin arm 
coverings resembling leggings. Many of their gar- 
ments and ornaments were highly decorated with 
designs worked in dyed moosehair, dyed porcupine 
quills and wampum, and, after the arrival of Euro- 
peans, with appliqué ribbon-work and beading. In 
almost every case the designs used by these tribes 
were floral and were patterned after the everyday 
leaves, flowers, ferns, and grasses of their land. 

In color, these Indians varied from a warm brown 
to a pale ocher, and, as a rule, their features were 
clear cut with high cheek bones, aquiline noses, and 
narrow eyes. Although many of the warriors wore 
the scalp lock and shaved the head, leaving only this 
and an upstanding comblike roach from forehead to 
nape of neck, yet this custom was by no means uni- 
versal, and the majority wore their hair long and 
braided. Nor were feather war bonnets used. A 
feather or two in the hair at the back of the head, 
caps of skin decorated with feathers, roaches or 
crests of dyed hair, headbands encircled with a row 
of wild turkey tail feathers, or plain fillets of skin, 
bark, or woven fiber were the rule. The Shawnees, 
however, wore headdresses of skin with feathers 
about the edge and with a pendant feather ‘‘tail?? 
which somewhat resembled war bonnets. 

All the tribes used tobacco, smoking the prepared 
leaves in short pipes with small stone or pottery 
bowls and wooden stems. They were fond of games, 
among which were dice in a bowl, jackstraws, cup 
and pin, Shawnee football, and the moccasin game 


244 THE AMERICAN INDIAN | 


in which one side hid some object in one of several 
moccasins and the other side endeavored to gees its 
location. 

Although it is popularly supposed that any Indian 
tribe may be identified by its moccasins, this is by 
no means the case. Very often one tribe borrowed a 
moccasin type from some neighboring tribe, and 
frequently the moccasins of one tribe would differ 
greatly in design and pattern according to locality, 
and it was not unusual to find several distinct types 
of moccasins in use by a single tribe. The footgear 
which has become, in the minds of most persons, the 
typical moccasin, was a low, slipperlike shoe of soft 
buckskin gathered to a tongue on the instep. These 
were used by many eastern tribes and particularly 
by the Ojibwas, Chippewas, and others of the Algon- 
quin race, but were by no means typical of all east- 
ern Indians. 

Broadly speaking, all moccasins may be classified 
under one of six distinct types, but there are endless 
variations and combinations of these. In form they 
varied all the way from low, slipperlike foot cover- 
ings to high boots. Whereas the woodland tribes 
used moccasins with soft soles and with uppers and 
soles in one piece, the plains and desert Indians used 
moccasins with separate soles of rawhide or thick 
leather sewed to the uppers. 

Moreover, the moccasin is not confined to North 
American tribes. Although most of the Indians of 
Mexico and Central and South America used sandals 
of hide, bark, or plaited vegetable fiber, or were bare- 
foot, yet the Mapuches of Chile and some of the 


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" ees 
a iil ats a eal 


INDIANS OF EASTERN WOODLANDS 945 


Quichua tribes of the Andes made typical moccasins 
gathered to a seam along the instep in exactly’ the 
Same manner as those of several North American 
tribes. | 

The majority of the eastern Algonquin tribes 
used moccasins gathered or puckered to a tongue on 
the instep, and the same type of footgear was used 
by the Indians of northern New England, who also 
belong to the Algonquin group. Among the best 
known of these tribes are the Abanaki, Micmac, Mal- 
ecite, Penobscot, and Passamaquoddy. These tribes 
inhabited Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and 
Canada as far north as the Saint Lawrence River 
and gulf. 

Although dependent mainly on hunting and fish- 

ing, yet they raised certain hardy vegetables in small 
clearings. The bows used by these tribes were four 
or five feet in length, rather slender, with a dis- 
tinctly flat back and rounded underside. The arrows 
were from twenty-three to twenty-seven inches in 
length, had three feathers, and were fitted with the 
various types of heads already mentioned. In fish- 
ing, three-pronged Spears, nets, hooks, and lines 
were used. They also used the hardwood, globular- 
headed war club. 
_ In the northern New England districts, snowshoes 
were a necessity, and these tribes had developed 
snowshoes to a high state of perfection. Indeed, 
most of the snowshoes in use to-day are of the Mic: 
mac or Abanaki pattern and many are still made by 
the Maine Indians for the sporting trade. . 

Here, too, the birch-bark canoe reached a high 


246 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


state of perfection, and the Penobscot model served 
as the basis for the canvas canoes so widely used by 
white men to-day. In addition to the birch-bark 
canoe, these Indians made skin canoes for temporary 
use, covering a frame of poles with green moose 
skins tallowed at the joints. These served excel- 
lently for fairly short voyages down the rivers. 

Among these tribes the toboggan was also used 
for winter transportation, while in summer, loads 
were carried on the back by means of a tump line 
across the forehead, a method widely used from the 
Arctic to Chile and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 
Burden baskets of birch bark and splints were also 
used in carrying loads. 

Among these tribes various types of dwellings 
were used, such as the typical conical wigwam or 
tepee covered with bark or sometimes skins or mats, 
and a variation of this which had the conical upper 
portion with lower walls of logs. During the sum- 
mer, long broad houses were used, these being rec- 
tangular in form and having a narrow smoke hole 
along the ridge pole the entire length of the building. 
During the winter, the log-walled wigwams were 
banked with leaves, moss, and sod until they had 
the appearance of low mounds topped with a conical 
hut. 

House furnishings were more numerous and 
varied than among the southern New England tribes. 
Among them were boxes, bowls and kettles of bent 
wood and birch bark, wooden bowls and spoons, bas- 
kets of grass and splints, bags and burden straps of 
bark and woven fibers, and many stone, bone, and 


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INDIANS OF EASTERN WOODLANDS 247 


wooden implements and tools. Pottery, if used at 
all, was rare and was probably secured through trade 
with other tribes. Water-tight wooden and bark 
utensils were used for cooking. 

As was customary with many tribes, food was 
boiled by dropping hot stones into the liquid; but 
these Indians also boiled food in birch-bark kettles 
by suspending them over hot coals after the hot 
stones had raised the water to the boiling point or 
near it. 

_ Tobacco, secured by trade, was used by these 
tribes; but the usual material smoked was the shred- 
ded bark of the red willow. This was used in pipes 
of the Micmac type, consisting of a cup-shaped 
bowl surmounting a ridge or keel carved from a 
single piece of stone and fitted with a wooden stem. 

In appearance these Indians were similar to the 
other Algonquin tribes: fairly tall, well propor- 
tioned, muscular, with light brownish skins, straight 
black hair, prominent cheek bones, and thin-bridged, 
straight or aquiline noses. 

Before the advent of the whites, these tribes 
dressed in tanned deerskins, the costumes consisting 
of long-skirted coats, trouserlike leggings, and moc- 
easins. These were augmented in winter by fur gar- 
ments and robes. 

Baby-carriers or cradle boards were used. These 
had a bow of wood above the child’s head to protect 
it in case of a fall and were often ornately decorated 
with quill- and hair-work. In their painted, bead, 
quill, and moose-hair ornamentation these Indians 
showed a highly artistic taste, using curved lines to 


248 THE AMERICAN INDIA 


form conventionalized floral designs. © 
also employed in decorating the birch-barl 
and utensils, the pattern on the bark being 
away, thus producing a light-colored de 
darker background, which was the reverse 
process used by neighboring tribes. Pag 
Particularly attractive and well made 
birch-bark boxes of the Micmacs, who were the 
northerly tribe of the group. Many of these, w 
in intricate designs of soft-colored porcupine | 
appear at first sight to be inlay work of the 
delicate sort, the quills in many cases being s 
and so closely and evenly placed that it is almo 
possible to detect the separate quills. ie 
Unfortunately, since the invasion of the 
men, these Indians have adopted aniline dye 
their modern quillwork is gaudy, garish, and | 
in appearance. Very soon after the arrival of - 
peans, these tribes adopted cloth in place of bu 
for garments, used blankets in place of fur : 
abandoned bows and arrows for firearms, ai 
came adepts in making ribbon appliqué worl 
silver brooch ornaments. 
Like most Indians, these tribes were fo 0 
games and sports, the most popular of which was 
played with circular dice made of bone tossed in a 
shallow wooden dish. Dolls and tops were also used, 
and the cup and pin game was a great favorite. 
Among these tribes the hair was generally worn 
long and either tied loosely at the back or braided. 
In place of the conventional war bonnet of feathers, 
a cap of skin or a skin band was worn which was 


|} OF EASTERN WOODLANDS 249 


ed with bead- or quill-work and some- 
eather or two at the rear. 
e immemorial, these eastern and motth: 
quin races were at war more or less con- 
the powerful Iroquois of northern New 
ern Ontario, and portions of Pennsyl- 
Ohio. The surviving tribes of the Iro- 
» the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayu- 
Senecas—the five tribes which formed the 
ul celebrated Five Nations—together with the 
aroras, who joined the northern Iroquois early 
teenth century and thus transformed the 
ito the Six Nations. In addition to these, 
the Hurons and Wyandots still survive. Al- 
hese two tribes belong to the same group, 
ney were not politically connected with the Iro- 
confederation. 
aly no group of tribes in North America was 
ned than the Iroquois. Not only were they 
ful, so well organized, and so warlike that 
quered and virtually controlled all the con- 
st of the Mississippi and north of Virginia 
nessee, but they offered a stubborn and for 
O° necessful resistance to the Europeans. | At 
es, however, they became their allies, and under 
whiten Peicrship made destructive raids and ruth- 
less massacres raneoput New England and the 
middle states. 

To their organization, their virility, and their 
strength is due the fact that so many of the race still 
exist and occupy their ancestral lands. They have 
become prosperous, civilized, and respected farm- 


250 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


ers, tradesmen, etc., although still retaining their 
tribal organizations and customs to large extent. 

No other North American tribes possessed such a 
genius for politics and organizations. The Iroquois 
league was the first federal union of states north of 
Mexico. It had a central government, as well as 
local councils, and functioned in a highly efficient 
manner. Descent was by the female line and woman 
suffrage was firmly established, many of the council- 
ors, officials, and even some of the chiefs being 
women. In their ceremonial and religious life the 
Iroquois also reached a high state of advancement, 
although both these and the development of indus- 
tries were subservient to politics and military train- 
ing. 

Like most of the other tribes of the central ne 
eastern woodland areas the Iroquois were preémi- — 
nently agricultural, and possessed large, well tilled 
cornfields and vegetable gardens. Hunting and fish- 
ing were, however, important, and the Iroquois 
tribes were noted for their skill in these pursuits. 
For hunting, they used long, flat bows of rectangular 
section which were sometimes made with waved or 
scalloped edges for decorative effect. The arrows 
were long, with three feathers, and before the arrival 
of Europeans were tipped with stone, deer antlers, 
or bone. Bone fishhooks and skin and fiber nets were 
used for fishing, while for hunting birds and small 
game the Iroquois used blowguns with darts tufted 
with thistledown. 

Like the other northerly tribes, those Indians used 
snowshoes, which were broader in proportion than 


INDIANS OF EASTERN WOODLANDS 251 


the eastern Algonquin types, and had upturned toes 
similar to the snowshoes of the more western tribes. 

The typical dwelling of the Iroquois was a large, 
well-built, rectangular house with gabled roof. It 
was constructed of poles lashed together and covered 
with sheets of elm bark sewed to the frame with bast. 
Often a number of related families occupied one 
house, each with its own fireplace, sleeping bunks, 
and storage space. The bunks were built along the 
walls, sometimes in double tiers, and the bedding 
consisted of mats and skins. Beneath these bunks 
were stored the various belongings, in baskets, bags 
of woven fiber, etc. 

In addition to these, the Iroquois had numerous 
household implements and utensils, such as wooden 
bowls; trays and spoons; wooden mortars and pes- 
tles; coarse and fine basketry sieves; bowls, bas- 
kets, and barrels of elm bark; round-bottomed pot- 
tery kettles, ete. 

Baby-carriers or cradles were used, the Iroquois 
form of cradle having the typical protective hoop 
over the head, while the footboard was permanently 
fixed instead of being adjustable as among most 
tribes. 

As weapons for warfare these Indians used heavy 
clubs of various forms, including the globular- 
headed type, but they were among the earliest In- 
dians to adopt the white man’s steel hatchets and 
tomahawks. 

For smoking they used stone and pottery pipes 
with the bowls carved or modeled in animal and 


252 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


human figures, and either with bowl and stem in one 
piece or with separate wooden stems. 

Their canoes were both of the dugout and bark 
types, both elm and birch bark being used for the 
latter; and when journeys were made overland 
pack baskets with woven tump lines were used. 

Nowadays, and on ordinary occasions, the Iro- 
quois dress as do their white neighbors, and are as 
up to date in styles as any one, but on ceremonial 
or tribal occasions they don their ancient costumes, 
although these are now made of cloth instead of buck- 
skin. The man’s costume consists of a tuniclike coat 
reaching nearly to the knees, a breecheloth, and long 
leggings handsomely beaded and worn with the seam 
in front. The moccasins of deer or moose hide, are 
usually with the uppers puckered to a single seam in 
front, though the Hurons, Mohawks, and Oneidas, 
as a rule, prefer the form in which the uppers are 
puckered to an instep piece or tongue. The typical 
Iroquois headdress was a cap covered with short, 
curling, cut feathers with one or more eagle feathers 
rising from the center, although some of the men 
wore upstanding roaches of hair. Across their 
shoulders and about their waists the men wore 

sashes of yarn woven in handsome patterns, often 
combining beads with the yarns. Garters of similar 
weave were tied about the legs just below the knees. 

The woman’s costume consisted of a decorated 
piece of skin or cloth belted skirtwise about the waist, 
and an overdress of lighter material covering the 
upper portion of the body and extending halfway 
down the skirt. Leggings, beautifully beaded and 


INDIANS OF EASTERN WOODLANDS 253 


with the seam in front, were worn; and on the feet 
were moccasins like those of the men. In cold 
weather both sexes wore robes of skin with the fur 
on. 

As ornaments, both men and women used silver 
rings, earrings, and bracelets, while the women’s 
dresses were often laden with silver disks or 
brooches. The use of silver by the Iroquois began 
with the arrival of the Europeans and later was de- 
veloped into a true art which has only been recently 
abandoned. In beadwork, quillwork, and moose-hair 
work the Iroquois showed highly artistic taste and 
great skill. Nearly every article of wearing apparel, 
burden straps, sashes, pouches, bags, robes, etc., 
were highly decorated, the designs being more or 
less conventionalized plant forms carried out in a 
fine lacelike manner, and often completely covering 
the material on which they were worked. 

In appearance the Iroquois varied somewhat ac- 
cording to tribe. They were well built, sinewy rather 
than muscular, erect, and had fairly high cheek 
bones; keen, straight eyes; high-bridged, often aqui- 
line noses; rather full lips; and straight black hair. 
In color they varied from pale yellow or light olive 
to a ruddy tan-brown. 

Like most tribes, they were fond of dances and 
eeremonials. ‘They believed in numerous spirits, 
mainly personified powers of nature over which ruled 
an omnipotent or supreme being or ‘‘Great Spirit.’’ 
‘Their principal ceremonies consisted of periodical 
feasts and dances at which thanks were given for 
past favors, and prayers and offerings made for 


254 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


their continuance, together with rites supposedly 
pleasing to the good spirits. With their mherent 
mania for organization, the Iroquois had many 
secret societies whose members on certain occasions, 
performed publicly and carried out most spectacular 
and impressive ceremonies. Such was the Falseface 
Company described in Chapter VIII. 

Games of many kinds were popular among the 
Iroquois, and most of their ancient games are still 
played by the Iroquois tribes of to-day. Among 
these are lacrosse, hoop and pole, dice and bowl, 
cup and pin, dolls, and tops, and the ever popular 
winter game of snow snake in which long, polished 
sticks or ‘‘snakes’’ are slid over the snow or ice 
for amazing distances. | 

West of the Iroquois territory, and occupying the 
area now comprised by Indiana, Illinois, a large por- 
tion of Wisconsin, and a part of Michigan, were a 
number of tribes belonging to the Algonquin stock 
and known collectively as the Central Algonquins. 
Among these tribes were the Sauk and Foxes, the 
Kickapoos, Menominees, Peorias, and Potawatomis. 
Very few of these tribes now remain in the district, 
the majority being scattered on various reservations. 
Although these were not strictly woodland Indians, 
and their homes were on the borderland of prairie 
and forest, yet their manner of living, their customs, 
and their industries were typically those of the wood- 
land tribes, and had little that is suggestive of the 
plains Indians. Like the Iroquois and the Eastern 
Algonquins, these Indians depended mainly upon 
agriculture, but also carried on a great deal of hunt- 


INDIANS OF EASTERN WOODLANDS 255 


ing and fishing. Among the more northerly tribes of 
the group, gathering wild rice and making maple 
sugar were important industries. | 

The ordinary hunting weapons were bows and ar- 
rows, although spears were also used, especially in 
hunting bears and in warfare. The bows were typi- 
cal of those of the eastern woodland Indians; they 
were four or five feet in length with a flat rectangu- 
lar section. The arrows were long, with three 
feathers and with the nock slightly hollowed for a 
fingerhold. The tips were, before the arrival of 
white men, of stone, bone, or antler; and knob- 
headed arrows were used for small game. 

Deer pounds were also used and the animals were 
sometimes chased by dogs and killed by hunters 
ambushed beside the runways, and at times were 
hunted at night by jack lights. Does were lured 
within reach of the hunters by deer calls which imi- 
tated the cry of a fawn. For fishing, both harpoon- 
like, single-pointed spears and three-pronged spears 
were used, as well as nets, and hooks made of bone 
or copper. In addition to all these hunting and fish- 
ing weapons, these tribes used the globe- headed war 
club, and later, the tomahawk. 

For utensils they had wooden ladles, spoons, 
dishes, and bowls; wooden mortars for crushing 
corn; rough-surfaced baskets for washing the hulled 
corn or hominy; baskets of splints and grass; birch- 
bark boxes and receptacles; bags woven from fibers 
and sometimes combined with buffalo hairs; and 
trunklike boxes of buffalo rawhide painted in angu- 
lar designs like those of the plains Indians. In addi- 


256 THE AMERICAN INDIAN « © 
tion to these, the central Algonquins made egg- 
shaped, pointed-bottomed pots of earthenware. 

Long, flat, curved bone needles were used in ‘sew- 
ing rushes to form waterproof mats with which win- 
ter wigwams were covered. Similar mats, often 
woven in decorative patterns, were used for wall and 
floor coverings, and to cover the benchlike beds. 

The cradle or baby-carrier used by these Indians 
was similar to that of the eastern tribes, and was 
provided with a U-shaped strip of wood which 
served as sides anda foot rest, and which was mov- 
able so that it could be lowered as the child grew. 

Their houses were largely of two types, a rec- 
tangular gable-roofed form for summer use, and a 
dome-shaped wigwam covered with mats or bark 
for cold weather. Like the houses of the Iroquois, 
the rectangular dwellings of the Central Algonquins 
were provided with raised bunks along the sides 
which served as seats and tables as well as beds. In 
the dome-shaped houses the Indians preferred to 
sleep on thick layers of dry grass or evergreen 
boughs. In addition to their dwellings, these In- 
dians had medicine lodges in which the ceremonies 
of the Mitawim were carried out. This was a long 
edifice with an arched roof, and for each ceremony 
it was covered with mats which were removed at the - 
close of the ceremonial, the frame being left standing 
for the next event. ) 

In the northern part of their hiatal these tribes 
used the birch-bark canoe, but one with higher ends 
than the northern Algonquian type. The canoe most 


INDIANS OF EASTERN WOODLANDS 257 


widely used was the dugout, designed more or less on 
the model of the birch-bark craft. 

_ Among these tribes, very soon after the arrival of 
the Spaniards, the horse came into use as a means 
of transportation. The saddles, bridles, and other 
trappings made by the Central Algonquins are simi- 
lar to those of the plains tribes who were the first to 
use horses, and whose accouterments were quickly 
copied by neighboring tribes. In wintertime, snow- 
shoes and toboggans were used by the northern 
tribes of the group, several patterns of both being 
made, and often obviously copied from their neigh- 
bors. | 
Smoking was universal among these Indians, as 
among other tribes. The pipes used were very simi- 
lar to those of the plains tribes and consisted of a 
T-shape or L-shape bowl of red or black pipestone 
with a long, usually flat, wooden stem often deco- 
rated with carving, quillwork, and beadwork, the 
bow! sometimes being carved into a human or animal 
figure. | 
_ In appearance these Indians were similar to their 
more easterly relatives, and were quite distinct from 
the true plains and desert Indians. Their color 
varied from a yellowish olive to a coppery brown; 
they were fairly tall, well proportioned, rather more 
muscular and inclined to corpulency than the true 
woodland tribes, and had well-bridged, often aqui- 
line noses, straight eyes, prominent chins, full lips, 
and straight black hair. The hair was worn long or, 
in the case of some warriors, was shaved clean with 
the exception of a braid or sealp lock at the back and 


258 |. / THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


an upstanding, bristly crest from forehead to nape 
of neck. 

The typical headdress was a broad band of otter 
skin with beaded decorations, while the shaven- 
headed men were fond of artificial crests or roaches 
made of turkey beards or deer hair. The man’s cos- 
tume varied more or less with the different tribes. 
From the earliest Colonial days cloth was adopted 
in place of the original skin garments. The upper 
portion of the body was covered by a shirt of buck- 
skin or cotton cloth; about the loins was a breech- 
cloth of blue cloth often beaded ; leggings of deerskin 
fringed along the seams, or of blue cloth decorated 
with ribbon appliqué work, covered the limbs. One- 
piece buckskin moccasins puckered to a single seam 
in front were worn, although among the more north- 
erly tribes the type with an inset tongue was used. 
About his waist the man wore a gorgeous belt of 
magnificent beadwork; garters of beadwork were 
fastened just below the knees; a handsomely beaded 
pouch with ornamented straps was slung across the 
shoulders. At times a deerskin coat was added. 
This was cut in white man’s style, and was often 
elaborately fringed, beaded, and decorated. During 
cold weather, robes and blankets were used. The 
woman’s costume consisted of a waist of skin or 
cloth decorated with silver brooches, a decorated 
strip of skin or of red or blue cloth fastened skirt- 
wise about the waist, and short leggings of red or 
blue cloth or buckskin often beautifully worked with 
ribbon appliqué or beads. Over this costume, in 
cold weather, was worn a robe of cloth heavily 


ie ae 


1. Tuscarora 
2. Kickapoo 
3. Seneca 

4. Chippewa 
5. Potawatomi 


Moccasin TYPEs 


6. Shahaptian 
7. Lechoux (win- 
ter) 
8. Apache 
9. Apache 
259 


10, Arapaho 

11. Seminole 

12. Montegnais 

13. Quicua (Peru) 
14. Mapuche (Chile) 


260 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


beaded and ornamented. Her headdress was a 
beaded square of cloth wrapped about the hair, 
which was done up in a roll or club and hung down 
the back. The hair wrapping was held in place by 
a woven beadwork band to which were fastened long 
bead streamers that reached almost to the ground. ° 
In weaving, beadwork, quillwork, and later, in rib- 
bon appliqué, the Central Algonquins showed great 
ability and artistic taste. In their weaving they em- 
ployed a great variety of patterns, mainly geometric 
but often based on human and animal forms. In all 
their weaving, however, even including their woven 
beadwork, the patterns are mainly angular, since 
techniques lend themselves only to straight or nearly 
straight lines. But in the case of their quillwork and 
bead embroidery, flowing lines and conventionalized | 
plant forms are abundant and typical. Their textiles 
consisted mainly of woven bags with a warp of fiber 
cords and a weft of buffalo hair, plant fibers, ravel- 
ings from cloth and blankets, or commercial yarns. 
In their woodwork, which was done by the men, 
these tribes also showed artistic ability, many of the 
bowls, spoons, etc., being graceful in form and orna- 
mented with carefully and accurately executed fig- 
ures of human beings, human heads, and animal fig- 
ures. : : 
In later years, after there was contact with the 
whites, these tribes showed a marked ability in work- 
ing metals and made attractive bracelets, ornaments, 
brooches, ete. But all of these, or at least nearly all, 
were made from German silver instead of coin sil- 


INDIANS OF EASTERN WOODLANDS 261 


ver which was so widely used by other tribes, es- 
pecially the Iroquois. | 

Among their favorite games was lacrosse, played 
with a very small racket, and regarded as more or 
less of a religious rite pleasing to the thunder gods. 
The bowl-and-dice game was also popular, as well 
as the cup and pin and draw stick or Jackstraws. <A 
game peculiar to the women was played with two 
balls connected by a short string and propelled with 
a straight stick. Both sexes were fond of the snow 
snake gliding; and foot races, archery, pony racing, 
and other athletic contests were greatly enjoyed. 

In their religious beliefs and ceremonies these 
tribes differed considerably from their relatives to 
the east. They believed in a multiplicity of spirits 
whose homes wre, in some cases above, and in 
others below the earth, and whose chief was a 
supreme being who lived in the sky or, in some cases, 
the sun. According to the traditions of these tribes, 
these various spirits granted visions to the Indians 
in which they were instructed how to prepare the 
sacred medicine bundles, the various charms, medi- 
cines, and ceremonial regalia supposed to bring good 
health and success to the Indians. The ceremonies 
associated with these bundles, whose rituals were be- 
lieved to come direct from the spirits, were very im- 
portant parts of the Indians’ religious observances. 

In addition to these strictly sacred or religious - 
ceremonials and rites, most of these tribes had secret 
ceremonials conducted by a secret society known as 
the Mitawin (the Menominee form). Each member 
of this society was supposed to own a medicine bag 


262 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


made of the whole skin of some animal, usually the 
otter, which was elaborately decorated with quill- 
and beadwork on feet and tail. The contents, con- 
sisting of various charms, fetishes, etc., were 
guarded with the utmost care. Among the other 
objects employed in the society’s ceremonies were 
large wooden bowls and ladles, each carved with an 
effigy of Wisaka who was the traditional founder of 
the lodge. er 

In many respects the rituals and ceremonies of 
this society bore a most amazing resemblance to 
those of the Free Masons. But that, after all, is not 
so startling as if may seem, for throughout America, 
masonry-like ceremonies are constantly cropping up 
among the Indian tribes. , | 


CHAPTER XIV 
INDIANS NORTH OF US 


TORTH of the United States, occupying nearly 
all of Canada from Labrador to within a few 
miles of the Pacific, and extending to the Eskimo ter- 
ritory beyond the Arctic circle, were many Indian 
tribes which have been divided into three groups 
known as the Eastern Sub-Arctic group, the Nor- 
thern Algonquins and the Western Sub-Arctic group. 
The tribes of the Hastern Sub-Arctic group occupied 
the peninsula of Labrador, with the exception of the 
Eskimo coastal strip, and the Province of Quebec. 
All of these tribes east of Hudson Bay speak Algon- 
quin dialects, but are quite distinct in habits and 
other ways from the Algonquins already described. 
The tribes in the southern part of the district are 
usually known collectively as the Montagnais; those 
of the northern area are collectively called Nasca- 
pees, although each group consists of various tribes 
or subtribes such as the Mistassini, Tete de Boule, 
etc. : 

Im their life and customs these eastern Canadian 
tribes are noticeably simple. Religious and tribal 
organization, and ceremonials are undeveloped, 
while the fighting or military spirit of these Indians 
is so lacking that they have acquired a reputation 
for timidity and cowardice. 


264 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


They were more or less nomadic, being largely de- 
pendent upon hunting and fishing, with the caribou 
as their main source of livelihood. These animals, 
which formerly ranged the country in vast herds, 
were taken by snares, shot from ambush, and 
speared from canoes while swimming lakes and 
rivers. In. winter they were slaughtered by being 
driven into deep snowbanks where they floundered 
helplessly and were easily killed by the Indian hunt- 
ers on snowshoes. 

For killing the caribou and other animals, these 
tribes used larch or spruce bows four to six feet 
long, about an inch thick, and an inch and one-half 
in width, and arrows twenty-four to thirty inches 
long with three feathers. Formerly bone points 
were used for large game and knobbed tips for birds 
and small game; but metal points were adopted after 
the arrival of Europeans, and to-day firearms are in 
general use. The caribou spear or lance used by 
these Indians had a bone, antler, or steel tip about a 
foot in length, and a stout wooden shaft about six 
feet in length. For fishing, these tribes used spears, 
fishhooks of bone, nets made of caribou-skin thongs, 
and a toggle-headed harpoon probably copied from 
similar weapons of the neighboring Eskimos. 

All the snowshoes of the district are broad for 
their length, and are flat without turned-up toes, 
although they vary in pattern among the different 
tribes. Birch-bark canoes were universal, two types 
being used, one much like those of the Maine Algon- 
quins, while the other had greater sheer and higher 
ends and resembled the Chippewa canoes farther 


INDIANS NORTH OF US 265 


west. In wintertime toboggans were used. They 
were hauled by the Indians, for these tribes, unlike 
the Indians of the Northwest and the Eskimos, never 
learned to raise and train dogs as draft animals. 

Unlike the other eastern tribes, these Indians used 
the tepee or wigwam of skins exclusively, both in 
summer and winter, and for beds used animal skins 
and robes of rabbit skins laid over a thick mattress 
of spruce or fir boughs. The household utensils 
consisted of bowls, ladles, and round and oval boxes 
of spruce wood, and kettles, buckets, bowls, and 
boxes of spruce bark or birch bark. As pottery was 
unknown, all boiling (before the introduction of 
iron or brass pots) was done by dropping red-hot 
stones into the liquid in these bark or wooden ves- 
sels. Bone awls, needles, and scrapers were used; 
but as far as is known the only stone implement was 
a roughly made, cylindrical pestle used for pound- 
ing caribou meat in making pemmican. 

The more northerly Nascapees did not use the 
typical Indian cradle or baby-carrier; but the 
southerly Montagnais used a type. with head-pro- 
tecting hoop and movable foot rest which was prac- 
tically identical with the baby-carriers of the Chip- 
pewas and Penobscots. - 

For smoking the red willow bark, as well as 
tobacco, these Indians used a kind of pipe with a 
graceful cup-shaped bowl having a keel or ridge 
beneath, and fitted with a short wooden stem. A 
thong of skin was usually threaded through a hole in 
the pipe keel and tied to the stem to prevent the loss 


266 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


of the latter, and very often this thong was — 
rated with beadwork. 

In appearance these loans were ratiesh shot 
and stocky, tan colored, and’ with flatter faces, 
heavier jaws and less prominetly bridged noses ahen 
their New England relatives. 

The costumes of the men consisted of long coats 
of caribou skin, the winter coats being closed in the 
front, while rr Summer coats were open. ‘The 
posed were of skin tanned with the hair on and 
worn skin-side out, while the summer garments were 
without hair. Both were usually handsomely deco- 
rated with painting. With these coats were worn 
short trousers or trunks of caribou skin, long leg- 
gings of the same material, and moccasins which re- 
sembled those of the naighhorine Kiskimos. On their 
heads these Indians wore skin or fur caps, some- 
times set off by a feather or two, or the tail or head 
of some wild animal, or woolen caps. 

The woman’s winter costume consisted of a sleeve- 
less, caribou-skin gown reaching to below the knees, 
separate arm coverings of skin, leggings of caribou 
or deerskin, and moccasins. For additional warmth, 
she wore a heavy robe of soft, tanned caribou shin 
with the hair on. During the summer she wore a 
lighter dress and donned skirts of highly decorated 
buckskin. 

In the ornamentation of these numerous tanned- 
leather garments, these Indians showed artistic 
taste and great ability. Indeed their decorative work 
was their only real art or culture, the decorations 
consisting largely of painting on skins. Birch-bark 


INDIANS NORTH OF US 267 


utensils were beautifully ornamented by scraping 
away the surface of the bark with the exception of 
the patterns desired, which thus appeared in high 
relief of a dark color on the light background, 
exactly reversing the effect of the Maine Algon- 
quin work (Chapter XIII). Only among the Mis- 
tassinis and Tete de Boule was beadwork devel- 
oped, the patterns used by these tribes being largely 
intricate floral designs evidently copied from the 
Chippewas and Crees to the west. 

The two last mentioned tribes belong in the 
_ Northern Algonquin group which also included the 
Ottawas and all the related tribes occupying the ter- 
ritory from Hudson Bay to the western Canadian 
prairies and from the Arctic Circle to within the 
northern borders of Michigan, Minnesota, and 
Wisconsin. | 

The more southerly of these tribes were partially 
devoted to agriculture, but all were dependent 
mainly on hunting and fishing and gathering wild 
rice and other wild vegetables. With the exception 
of the southern Chippewas (sometimes known as 
Ojibwas), these Northern Algonquins had a simple, 
almost Arctic tribal organization, religion, and life, 
which was most marked among the Crees. 

Among most of these tribes the gathering of wild 
rice was perhaps the most important industry. 
When the wild rice ripened in the shallow bays and 
lakes, the Indians poled their canoes through the 
beds, and drawing the stems over the sides of the 
eraft, beat the grain from the heads into the canoes. 
It was then taken ashore, dried in the sun or on 


268 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


racks over a fire, and threshed by treading with the 
feet or by means of flails, after which it was win- 
nowed in birch-bark trays and stored in skin or fiber 
bags or bark boxes. Some tribes carried on a crude 
cultivation of the wild rice beds, weeding and re- 
seeding them; but as a rule, the Indians depended 
upon accidentally losing enough of the grains to 
plant the beds for a new crop. 

Gathering maple sugar was another industry, the 
Indians using wooden skimmers and molds and 
specially designed birch-bark boxes in which the 
sugar was stored. : 

In hunting, the bow and arrow was the chief 
weapon, the bows being rather long and of rectangu- 
lar section, and the arrows long and with stone, 
bone, antler, or copper heads. Two forms of war 
clubs were used, one the common globe-headed type, 
the other a flat, bent, or ‘‘gun-stock’’-shaped affair. 
When first met by Europeans these tribes carried 
their knives hanging at the breast in a sheath sus- 
pended from the neck, and these sheaths were usually 
handsomely decorated with quill- or bead-work. 

In their religion these Indians were similar to 
their more southern relations and believed in a mul- 
tiplicity of spirits ruled over by a supreme spirit 
often identified as the sun. Among the Chippewas, 
medicine cults or societies were common, but among 
the other tribes the individual shaman or medicine 
man was the rule. Among the peculiar utensils per- 
taining to these religious societies was the ‘‘water 
drum,’’ so-called because an inch or two of water 


INDIANS NORTH OF US 269 


was poured into it to lend greater resonance to its 
sound. It is also worthy of note that among these 
tribes the rituals were preserved and recorded by 
means of picture writings, usually on birch bark, the 
characters used representing the song topics in their 
proper sequence. 

Several forms of pipes were used, those of the 
Crees being the bowl and keel form of carved stone 
with a wooden stem. Those of the Ottawas and 
Chippewas had plain stone bowls with short wooden 
stems for ordinary occasions, while for ceremonial 
uses they employed heavy L-shaped pipes of red or 
black stone with long, wooden stems usually beauti- 
fully and elaborately carved. 

Their canoes were of birch bark, although the 
Chippewas also used dugouts. For winter trans- 
portation they used toboggans and snowshoes, the 
latter long and narrow with square, slightly up- 
turned toes. | 

Like the Central Algonquins, these Indians used 
the rectangular, bark-covered dwelling with gable 
roof, the dome-shaped, bark wigwam, and a portable 
dome-shaped wigwam covered with mats. In addi- 
tion, the more northerly tribes used the conical tepee 
or wigwam with skin or birch-bark covering. 

For household furnishings, these Indians had an 
abundance of mats woven from rushes and cedar 
bark, boxes of birch bark, skin bags, woven pouches 
or sacks, cylindrical wooden mortars, bowls, ladles, 
and other vessels of wood, and some pottery. The 
cradle or baby-carrier used was the same as that of 
the Central Algonquins (Chapter XIII), although 


270 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


often decorated and with the head yoke bent in fanci- 
ful form. 

The costume of the men was a short vest or shirt, 
a breechcloth; long, fringed leggings, and soft moc- 
casins puckered to an instep piece. The headdress 
was a band or cap of skin ornamented with a few 
feathers. The costume of the women was a sleeve- 
less gown extending from armpits to knees, a cape 
or flap over the shoulders, separate sleeve coverings, 
a broad waist sash or belt, short leggings and moc- 
casins, while at times a short skirtlike strip of ma- 
terial was worn about the thighs beneath the over- 
garment. During winter weather, both sexes wore 
fur robes, and, after contact with white men, all the 
tribes adopted cloth in place of buckskin for wear- 
ing apparel, or used a combination of both. 

Usually the garments, especially those of the 
women, were elaborately ornamented by bead- and 
quillwork, in which arts these tribes were notably 
expert and showed a highly developed artistic taste. 
Their designs and patterns, largely of floral forms, 
and the technique of their truly beautiful work have 
been copied far and wide by other tribes, and are 
now found among practically all of the Western sub- 
Arctic Indians, and have even spread to the Pacific 
coast tribes, such as the Tlinkits. To the south, the 
Northern Algonquin motifs and work have extended 
to the Winnebagos and Potawatomis. 

Among the games and sports of these tribes may 
be mentioned bone dice-and-bowl; the cup-and-pin 
game, consisting of fish vertebrae tossed up and 
caught on the tip of a pin attached to a string; la- 


INDIANS NORTH OF US 271 


erosse; shinny or hockey; hoop and pole; snow 
snake; and the women’s game of double ball; be- 
sides many games much like hide the thimble. 

Farther west, occupying most of the area between 
Hudson Bay and the Pacific coast south of the 
Eskimo domains, are many tribes among which are 
the Loucheux, Sarsis, Kawchodinnes (a branch of 
the Slave tribe), and some Chippewaian tribes. All 
of these are so similar in life, customs, industries, 
and language that they are usually grouped to- 
gether. As a whole, these Indians exhibited the 
usual sub-Arctic simplicity of life, religions, and 
tribal organization. Some, like the Loucheux, were 
warlike; but the majority were peaceful, docile, and 
even timid, the humble character of one tribe having 
led to their being called ‘‘Slaves’’ by the more virile 
tribes of the south. 

Being almost entirely dependent upon hunting and 
fishing, these tribes were largely nomadic and fol- 
lowed the caribou, the moose, the salmon, and the 
whitefish. In capturing the caribou, these Indians 
employed pounds or traps consisting of wide-winged 
fences leading to a narrow apex which formed the 
slaughter pen. 

The common type of bow used was of willow about 
five feet in length, of the double-curved form, and 
flattened oval in section. The arrows were short, 
with three feathers, and had points of bone or metal. 
Nets and spears were used in fishing. In winter, 
snowshoes of a long narrow pattern with sharply 
upturned toes were universally used and were in- 
dispensable. Originally, stone or even bone knives 


272 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


were used; but from very early days these tribes 
have used a peculiarly formed double-edged knife 
made by the Indians from files obtained from white 
traders. : 

The birch-bark canoe in various forms was exten- 
sively used, while for heavy loads, canoes of moose- 
skin were preferred. Unlike the birch canoes of the 
New England and eastern Canadian tribes, the 
canoes of these tribes were decked fore and aft and 
were narrow and sharp ended. Where there were 
no navigable waterways, burdens were transported 
on the backs of dogs or on the backs of the Indians, 
and in winter, toboggans, often drawn by dogs, were 
used extensively. 

In the northern parts of their district these In- 
dians used dome-shaped houses or wigwams of 
skins, and in summer erected rectangular shacks of 
poles and bark which served as dwellings and also 
as smoke houses for curing fish. In the southern 
parts of their territory, they used the conical tepee 
or wigwam, which was usually bark covered. For 
household furnishings they had baskets of coiled 
weave; bowls and buckets of birch bark; dishes and 
ladles of mountain sheep horns and of wood! gaye 
robes; and mats. 

The men wore a long shirt or tunic ending in tail: 
like points at front and back, and trousers and moc- 
casins made in one piece. This costume varied 
among the several tribes, and the tribes of the south- 
erly districts used shorter tunics, long leggings, and 
moccasins. The women’s costumes consisted of long, 
tuniclike gowns without the points, trousers or long 


NortH AMERICAN INDIANS 


1. Indians of Eastern Canada 
2. Northern Algonquins 

3. Indians of Western Canada 
4. Indians of Southern States 


278 


274 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


leggings, and separate moccasins, the women of the 
more southerly tribes varying the costume to the 
extent of shorter gowns, shorter leggings, and the 
addition of abbreviated skirts. In winter both sexes 
wore warm robes made of strips of rabbit skins 
twisted in a sort of fur-covered yarn and closely 
woven. For protection in winter weather, the chil- 
dren were padded with thick, dry moss and covered 
with a sacklike envelope. No baby-carriers were 
used, the child being carried in a fold of the mother’s 
robe upon her back and supported by a broad belt 
or band, passed outside the robe and fastened over 
the breast. 

Games were principally of an athletic character, 
especially wrestling, but several hand games, such 
as the cup and pin, were favorites. | 

The decorative and artistic tastes of these people 
were mainly expressed in quillwork at which they 
excelled. Indeed, much of their quill ornamentation 
is the finest known and has never been equaled by 
any other tribes. Not only were porcupine quills 
used, but the quills of birds’ feathers, as well as 
beads, played an important part in their decorations. 
Many of their garments, their moccasins, their 
pouches, and especially their belts, are marvels of 
artistic design and harmonious color combinations, 
although of late years their work has been greatly 
influenced by the whites and by the work of the 
Crees whose easily recognizable floral patterns have 
been so widely copied. 


CHAPTER XV 
INDIANS OF OUR SOUTHERN STATES 


LL the North American Indians I have so far de. 
scribed belonged to more or less closely related 
racial stocks or groups, and were similar in many of 
their customs, habits, dialects, and costumes. But 
in the area now occupied by our southern states, 
were many tribes wholly distinct in every way. 
These Indians, who originally occupied the territory 
from Virginia and Tennessee to the Gulf of Mexico, 
and from the Atlantic coast to beyond the mouth of 
the Mississippi, represented a number of racial 
stocks and languages and were in various stages of 
advancement at the time of the first arrival of Euro- 
peans in America. Despite this, however, all are in 
some ways so similar in arts, mode of life, organiza- 
tion, and other characteristics that for our purpose 
they may be grouped together. 
The most typical stock represented in this group 
is the Muskhogean in which are included such tribes 
as the Creeks proper, the Alibamu and Koasati 
(both of the old Creek confederation), the Choctaws, 
the Houmas, the Seminoles, and the Chickasaws. 
Quite distinct from these racially, and yet similar in 
many ways, are the Cherokees of Iroquoian stock, 


and the Uchees and Chitimachas who are believed 
275 


276 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


to be the only survivors of a distinct linguistic 
group. Finally, several of the Sioux tribes existed 
in this district, notably the Catawbas, who are the 
only Siouan people existing to-day in any numbers 
in the district. | 

Archeological remains prove that in former times 
many of these southern tribes had reached a high 
state of culture which was lost or nearly lost soon 
after the advent of Europeans, most of the surviv- 
ing tribes having almost completely abandoned abo- 
riginal ways. Only the Florida Seminoles approxi- 
mate the life and customs of their ancestors; but 
even these Indians have lost all but a few of the 
features of their tribal culture, owing to their long 
conflict with the whites and the hunted, persecuted 
life they were forced to adopt when driven into the 
fastnesses of the Everglades. 

Among most of these tribes, agriculture was the 
main industry, although nin Gog and fishing were 
carried on extensively. In hunting, the bow used 
was long, flat, and of rectangular section. The 
arrows, too, were far longer than those of the north- 
eastern tribes, and had two feathers set with a slight 
twist. Many of the arrows, of both wood and cane, 
had fire-hardened tips, while others had points of 
stone, bone, and antler. All of these, with the excep- 
tion of the fire-hardened type which is still used for 
small game, gave place to metal soon after the ar- 
rival of white men in the district. Most interesting 
is the fact that, unlike other tribes, these Indians 
made metal arrow points of conical form instead of 
triangular barbed shape. 


INDIANS OF SOUTHERN STATES 277 


Blowguns were also used extensively by these 
Indians, and in this district these weapons reached 
their highest development in North America. Two 
types were used, one of cane, smoothed inside and 
straightened, the other formed by binding two 
grooved sections of wood together to form a tube. 
Darts of twisted cane permanently tufted were used, 
but as far as is known, no poisoned darts were em- 
ployed. Neither were the heavy, knobbed war clubs 
of the northern and eastern tribes used by these 
southern Indians who preferred lighter scimitar 
or swordlike clubs of hardwood. Among the more 
westerly tribes of the group, these were at times 
provided with a heavy knob or ball at the back, much 
in the manner of a butcher’s cleaver, in order to give 
additional weight and power to the weapon. 

For fishing, nets and weirs were used, as well as 
basketry traps, bone hooks and spears. Among 
these tribes, too, the common South American cus- 
tom of shooting fish with bow and arrows was widely 
practiced, and is still in vogue among some of the 
tribes. Among the Choctaws, the arrows used for 
shooting fish are almost exactly like those in use by 
various South American Indians, being in reality 
miniature harpoons with a retrieving line attached 
to the loose, barbed head. 

In their religions, these Indians were similar to 
many other tribes, and believed in a multitude of 
spirits or deities dominated by a supreme being, 
identified as the sun by certain tribes, while others 
regarded the sun as the Great Spirit’s chief helper 
among the subordinate powers. In ancient times, 


978 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


temples were built upon artificial mounds for reli- 
gious and ceremonial purposes, at which shamans or 
medicine men officiated, serving the several purposes 
of priest, physician, juggler, and magician in one. 

Among the ceremonial articles used were drums, 
rattles, and whistles; masks; wands trimmed with 
eagle feathers and used in the ‘‘eagle dance’’; and 
rattles made of the shells of many land turtles each 
containing pebbles. These shells were attached to 
the leggings of the women during dances. There 
were also scarifiers of bone set in eagle quills which 
were used in blood-letting on certain occasions, as 
just before engaging in an intervillage or inter- 
tribal game of ‘‘racket.’? In this game the par- 
ticipants wore the tails of various animals as 
charms, the Indians believing that they thus became. 
imbued with the speed, agility, and endurance of 
the various creatures. 

All of these tribes used tobacco, and for smoking, 
employed pipes with small bowls of pottery, stone, 
or wood with short stems of wood or cane. The best 
stone pipes were those of the Cherokees, who fre- 
quently carved their pipe bowls in animal effigies, 
while the best pottery pipes were those made by the. 
Catawbas. | 

Among these southern tribes, the favorite game 
was ‘‘racket’’ or ‘‘raquette’’? played much in the 
manner of lacrosse except that each player used 
two, small, netted sticks. Another favorite game 
was a form of the widespread hoop and pole, played 
in this region with a stone disk which was rolled 
along a prepared course and made to serve as a 


1. Dieguefio 
2. Seri 

3. Pima — 
4, Yuma 

5. Hupa 

6. Hopi 


a 
(Kaz xm ae ES 


\ ZZ», 


a 


% 


NS 
\ 
LZ» in 


yA 
ROW 
AZ22Z 


> 


N 


OF Ay el 
{ Vili 
Y, Y/ Ap 


BABY-CARRIERS OR CRADLE BOARDS 


. Zuni 

. Luisefio 

. Shahaptian 
. Wichita 

. Navajo 

. Potawatomi 


279 


13. Iroquois 

14. Ute 

15. Kiowa 

16. Crow 

17. Piute 

18. Mapuche (Chile 


280 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


target for the other players, exactly as wooden hoops 
are used elsewhere. Dice games were also common, 
but a shallow basket was used instead of the ordi- 
nary wooden bowl for shaking the bone dice. 

Wherever there were navigable waters, these 
tribes used dugout canoes, while for carrying bur- 
dens overland and bringing crops of corn, etc., from 
their fields, these tribes used large hopper-shaped 
baskets carried on the back, and supported by a 
breast or brow band. 

At the present time, only two forms of dwellings 
are used by these tribes. The first, which is the 
typical Seminole house, is rectangular, gable roofed, 
palm thatched, and is raised several feet from the 
ground on posts, but has no walls. The other type 
is that of the Houmas, which is similar to the fore- 
going but is provided with walls of palm leaves. 
Formerly, however, circular and oval houses were 
in use and rectangular dwellings with arched or 
dome-shaped roofs were not uncommon. In con- 
struction, these also varied, some being entirely 
of palm thatch, others of bark, others of mats, and 
still others of wattled work plastered with mud or 
clay. ! 

The beds were usually benchlike, raised platforms 
covered with mats and skins, or even with fabrics 
woven of vegetable fiber, cotton, and hair. Sev- 
eral of the tribes made low, carved wooden stools 
similar to those used by the West Indian and South 
American tribes. Among the other household fur- 
nishings were peculiar basketwork trays of square 
form used for winnowing grain, scoop-shovel-shaped 


INDIANS OF SOUTHERN STATES 281 


winnowing baskets (among the Choctaws), sieve 
baskets, storage baskets of many forms, wooden and 
buffalo-horn ladles, spoons, wooden bowls and trays, 
and an abundance of pottery utensils. Indeed, pot- 
tery reached a higher state of development and a 
wider use here than among any other North Ameri- 
can races with the exception of the Pueblos of the 
southwest. The pottery ware of the Catawbas still 
finds a ready market in South Carolina and its manu- 
facture is an important industry of the surviving 
members of the tribe. 

To-day cradles of wood, or baby-carriers, are not 
in use among these tribes, the hammock, peculiar to 
southern Indians, having supplanted both this and 
the older forms of beds; but formerly, baby-carriers 
of cane were used by the tribes near the Mississippi 
delta and carriers of cane were in use by the Choc- 
taws. 

Basketry reached a high development among 
these tribes, especially the Cherokees and Chiti- 
machas, and from earliest times these southern tribes 
have been famed for their textiles. These, woven 
from various fibers, opossum hair, and buffalo wool, 
were used as garments, belts, sashes, garters, and 
pouches, but nowadays have been supplanted by na- 
tive weaving in commercial yarns. Formerly, too, 
these Indians made magnificent feather robes or 
mantles, each selected feather being individually 
fastened to a woven fabric foundation, often in 
handsome designs and color combinations, the whole 
forming a robe of extraordinary warmth and light- 
ness. 


ee ee ee ee) 
ar WO NO = © 


NNH NH NNN N NO BSB we 
NOa FP WNeH CO MO Da ame 


COTA MN Rw ND ww 


HEADDRESSES, NorTH AMERICAN INDIANS 


. Warbonnet, Kiowa 

. Warbonnet, Mandan 

. Woman’s Headdress of Fur, Mandan 
. Roach of Horsehair, Sioux 

. Cap of Leather and Feathers, Apache 


Cap of Leather, Scalp Locks and Antelope Horns, Apache 


. Cap of Leather and Feathers, Apache 

. Hair Plume, Osage 

. Headdress of Fur, Beadwork and Feathers, Fox 

- Cap of Beadworked Leather, Horsehair and Horns, Winnebago 
- Roach of Badger Hair and Feathers, Osage 

. Cap and Bob of Otter Skin, Comanche 

. Cap of Skin and Feathers, Modoe ; 

. Headdress of Porcupine Skin, Wild Cat Skin and Feathers, 


Modoc 


. Headdress of Fur and Feathers, Modoc 

- Headdress of Bark and Feathers, Klamath 

. Headdress of Skin and Feathers, Taos Pueblos 
. Headdress of Painted Rawhide, Pueblo Indians 
. Cap of Leather and Feathers, Iroquois 

. Cap of Leather and Feathers, Iroquois 

. Roach of Horsehair, Shawnee 
- Hair Ornament of Prairie Hen Feathers, Wichita 
. Headdress, Cloth and Aigrettes, Seminole 

. Headdress, Fur and Duck Wings, Chippewa 

. Hood of Fur, Lechoux Women 

. Hat of Fur, Montegnais 

. Head Plume, Alibamu 


—— 


(CSS A Se 


283 


284 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


Another industry, which of course was developed 
since the advent of Europeans, was silverwork; but 
in this district the silversmith’s art was the direct 
result of the coppersmith’s work which flourished 
among these tribes in prehistoric days. The silver, 
and formerly the copper, ornaments were used by 
both men and women. The clothes of the latter were 
often completely covered with metal disks and 
brooches. Both sexes wore numerous rings, ear- 
rings, bracelets, arm bands, and gorgets of silver. 
The men also wore broad head bands of the same 
metal. | 

In beadwork, these tribes were also proficient, 
their designs being very commonly patterned in imi- 
tation of the markings on the rattlesnake and other 
serpents. Scroll designs are common, as they are 
on the pottery, especially in sunlike emblems con- 
nected with the ancient sun worship of these tribes. 

The ancient costume of the men consisted of a 
breechcloth and moccasins during the summer, and 
robes of skins, native textiles, or feather-work for 
winter. About the mouth of the Mississippi a shirt 
made of two deerskins and reaching halfway to the 
knees was also worn. During the summer, the 
women wore a rectangular garment of fabric or skin 
belted about the loins like a skirt, and at times, a 
similar strip passing under one arm and over the 
other. In winter, they wore robes like those of the 
men, together with deerskin moccasins. The pres- 
ent-day costumes show great changes due to outside 
influences. Only the Florida Seminoles retain any 
distinctive Indian dress. The Seminole men wear 


a. ag 2) 

hy fe 
ee 
\e 
dy 


HEADDRESSES, NoRTH AMERICAN INDIANS 


1. Headdress of Bark, Quillwork, and Feathers, Rappahannock 
2. Headdress of Bark, Beadwork, and Feathers, Rappahannock 
3. Woman’s Headdress of Silver, Feathers, etc., Delaware 
4. Headdress of Leather and Feathers, Shawnee 
5. Headdress of Leather and Feathers, Hupa 
6. Head Plumes, Tolowa . 
7. Headdress of Painted Leather, Tolowa 
8. Headdress of Painted Leather and Feathers, Tolowa 
9-10. Head Plumes, Rogue River Indians . 
11. Headdress of Woodpecker Scalps, Hupa 
12. Headdress of Leather and Feathers, Karok 
13. Headring of Horn, Scalps, and Feathers, Shahaptian 
14. Headdress of Beads, Tlingit 
15-16. Head Plumes, Dieguefio 
285 


286 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


short tunics, voluminous skirts or kilts, soft high 
moceasins puckered to a single seam along the in- 
step, and heavy turbanlike headdresses of cloth 
decorated with feathers or aigrets. About the arms 
and legs, woven garters are worn, and broad belts 
are fastened about the waist. The women wear 
skirts and short waists of gayly colored trade cloth, 
beadwork and woven sashes, beadwork hair orna- 
ments, an abundance of bead necklaces and other 
Jewelry, and moccasins like those of the men. 

By far the greater number of these various tribes 
have been placed on the Oklahoma reservations 
where they have abandoned most of their native 
dress and, when not attired in conventional clothing, 
they don costumes copied from those of the plains 
tribes, with war bonnets and all. : 

In their physical and personal appearance these 
Indians varied considerably according to tribe and 
locality. On the whole they averaged shorter, stock- 
ier, and with deeper chests and smaller limbs than 
the Indians of the north and east; and in color they 
were darker, many of them being a true brown. 
Their faces were rounder, their lips thicker, their 
noses broader, and their eyes often oblique. More- 
over, during the days when escaping negro slaves 
sought refuge among the Indians, there was a con- 
siderable intermixture of African and Indian blood, 
and many of the existing members of these tribes 
are more African than Indian in appearance, while 
many with typical Indian features have the dusky 
brown skin of the negro. 


CHAPTER XVI 
INDIANS OF THE PLAINS 


EST of the Mississippi, and occupying the 

prairies and plains northward to the Cana- 
dian border and westward to the Rocky Mountains, 
were many tribes of Indians representing a number 
of racial and linguistic stocks, and having a wide di- 
versity of habits. Ordinarily, these tribes are re- 
ferred to by the sweeping and general term of 
‘plains Indians.’’ But as certain features, habits, 
modes of life, and even physical characters, differ 
greatly among these Indians, while a number of non- 
related tribes may be more or less similar, they have 
been divided into three general groups. This divi- 
sion, although not an ethnological grouping, serves 
very well for the ordinary purposes of studying these 
interesting peoples. The three groups are known as 
the Southern Sioux, the Village Indians of the 
Plains, and the Plains Nomads. 

In the first group are a number of tribes formerly 
inhabiting the area west of the Mississippi from 
Arkansas to Wisconsin, whose dialects were related 
to the Sioux or Dakota language, but whose cus- 
toms and industries were more or less similar to 
those of the Central Algonquin group. Among the 


tribes included in the Southern Sioux are the Win- 
287 


288 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


nebagos of Wisconsin; the Iowas and Otos of Iowa, 
Nebraska, and Missouri; the Omahas, Poncas, 
Osages, Kansas, and Quapaws who dwelt in Ne- 
braska, Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas; and in ad- 
dition, the so-called Eastern Sioux such as the San- 
tees, Siekeraie and Wahpetons. 

Unlike the more westerly Siouan tribes, who were 
nomadic, these tribes depended a great deal upon 
agriculture, although hunting played an important 
part in their lives as most of them lived in the buf- 
falo country. Like the other western tribes, these 
Indians acquired horses very soon after the arrival 
of the Spaniards in Mexico, and when first met by 
white pioneers from the east they hunted _ bison 
on horseback. 

In their weapons these tribes vary somewhat: 
Thus the Winnebago bow and arrows are very simi- 
lar to those of the Central Algonquins already de- 
scribed; the bows of the Iowas and Otos are shorter 


and narrower; while the Osage bow is of medium 


length but narrow, and the arrows are of the true 
plains type, short with the prongs of the nock spread 
into swallow-tail shape, and with three long feathers. 
In addition to bows and arrows, these tribes used 
lances, as well as war clubs of several forms. Among 
these were the widely used globe-headed club, the 
gun-stock club, and the plains type of skull-cracker 
consisting of a stone slung loosely at the end of 
a wooden handle. Among the Kansas and Osages at 
least, circular shields of buffalo skin were used. °° 


| 


: 


Living as they did between the more easterly | 


woodlands and the far western plains, these ‘races 


INDIANS OF THE PLAINS 289 


INDIANS OF THE PLAINS 


1. Southern Sioux 
2. Plains Nomads 
3. Desert Nomads 
'4, Pueblos 


289 


290 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


adopted houses typical of both the woodland and the 
plains tribes. Thus they used bark and mat-covered 
wigwams, both with arched and gabled roofs; conical 
tepees of skin; and earth lodges. At times all of 
these forms would be found in use by a single tribe. 

Among the more northerly tribes, snowshoes were 
used in winter. None of these Indians made real 
canoes. When a stream was to be crossed they used 
circular, coracle-like boats of skin or ‘bull boats’’; 
but most of their traveling was, of course, done on 
horseback. | 

Among their household utensils were very few 
baskets, except among the Quapaws. For storage 
they had rectangular, rawhide trunks, flat, rawhide 
cases painted in angular patterns, and woven bags 
of fiber and buffalo hair. For grinding corn they 
used short, cylindrical wooden mortars and stone 
grinders or ‘‘hammer stones.’’ 

Baby-carriers were used, the typical form having 
the board extended beyond the head bow and usually 
carved and painted, but lacking the sides or foot rest 
of the Algonquin tribes. 

For smoking, these Indians used pipes with L- 
shaped or T-shaped bowls of red or black stone with 
a wooden stem twelve to fourteen inches in length. 
For ceremonial purposes larger pipes more highly 
decorated were employed, and occasionally the war 
club and pipe were combined in a single implement. 
Pipes and tobacco were kept in decorated pipe bags 
of medium size. These were less ornate than those 
of the nomadic Indians farther west. 

All of these tribes believed in a mysterious ‘‘Great 


INDIANS OF THE PLAINS 291 


Spirit’? known as Wakanda, who ruled all the lesser 
deities. Most of their ceremonies of a religious 
character centered about their bundles, which con- 
tained symbolic objects, and whose use and prepara- 
tion were revealed to the Indians in visions. 

It was among these tribes that the calumet cere- 
mony was in vogue, a practice which became widely 
known and was the origin of the almost universal 
idea that all Indians smoked the ‘‘pipe of peace.’? 
The calumets of these Indians were ceremonial pipes 
with symbolic stems in pairs, one stem representing 
the male, the other the female principle. They were 
used in a most complicated and involved ceremony 
filled with symbolisms. This calumet ceremony was 
always an important part of every peace treaty, and 
was also carried out to express undying allegiance 
and friendship. Formerly, any one carrying a calu- 
met could travel in safety among all the tribes, the 
pipes serving as a passport. To-day, however, the 
ceremony is commonly used as a supplication for 
rain, or for any purpose for which the Indians de- 
sire to win the favor of their deities. 

Like other tribes of the West, these tribes had 
many medicine bags, and, like the easterly Algon- 
quins, they had their sacred medicine lodges. Fet- 
ishes and charms were also common, one being a 
wooden effigy representing a mythical dwarf known 
as the Tree Dweller who was supposed to bring suc- 
cess in hunting. A flint knife, with a beaver tooth 


1 Very often, the calumets consisted of the decorated wooden stems 
without bowls and were thus purely symbolical. Variations of the 
calumet and the use of ornately decorated “peace pines” are common 
to a number of other tribes. 


292 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


and a piece of deer’s antler was a favorite war 
charm among the Osages. ry 

In appearance, these Indians bebe the more 
northerly tribes averaging taller and lighter in color 
than their southern relatives, and as a whole, more 
nearly resembling the Central and Northern Algon- 
quins than the nomadic plains and desert tribes. 

The costumes. worn by men and women of these 
tribes varied more or less in detail, but as:a whole, 
were a sort of cross between the costumes of the 
Central Algonquian tribes and the far western plains 
Indians. Thus we find shirts, breecheloths, and leg- 
gings of Algonquin type, together. with war shirts 
with fringes and scalp locks and war bonnets of 
eagle feathers. In their moccasins these tribes 
showed the widest variation. The majority were 
of the hard-soled, plains type, but many were made 
with flaps like the soft moccasins of the eastern 
woodland Indians, and like these, they were deco- 
rated with floral designs. Among the, Omahas and 
Winnebagos, on the other hand, only the women wore 
soft moccasins made in one piece, and these had large 
flaps in front, while the Osage and Quapaw women 
used a unique type of soft, one-piece moccasin with 
a single seam down the center of the sole. 

The games of these tribes were in no way peculiar, 
being those common to many tribes, such as lacrosse, 
shinny, the moccasin game, football, hoop and pole, 
bowl and dice, and, wherever there was snow, the 
snow snake. 

In their arts and decorative work these’ tribes 
varied greatly, the more northerly Winnebagos 


INDIANS OF THE PLAINS 293 


producing beautiful bead- and quill-work. Through- 
out the area the designs used were predominantly 
conventionalized floral patterns with a certain 
amount of angular designs. In wood-carving these 
Indians were not very proficient, although the 
Otos often produced splendid work. But in textiles, 
and especially bags and sashes of fibers and buffalo 
hair, these tribes showed skill and an xsthetic taste. 

Thus, taken as a whole, we find this Southern 
Siouan group exactly what we might expect from 
their environment—tribes showing a combination of 
characters typical of both the true woodland and 
true plains tribes, and using the customs and pe- 
culiarities of one or the other as they were bie 
suited to their needs. 

Dwelling in portions of the same general territory 
occupied by the Southern Siouan group, but partic- 
ularly along the Texan border, were the Village In- 
dians of The Plains, who dwelt, as their name im- 
plies, in permanent villages and depended mainly 
upon agriculture for a livelihood. Among these 
were the Pawnees, Wichitas, Caddos, and Arikaras 
of the Caddoan linguistic stock and the Hidatsas 
and Mandans belonging to the Siouan stock. Of 
these, the Wichitas and Caddos were. the most dis- 
tinct in habits and other matters, as they dwelt in 
a partly forested region and were greatly influenced 
by their neighboring southeastern woodland tribes. 

Among these Village Indians of the Plains, agri- 
culture was carried on much as among the eastern 
agricultural tribes, and corn, beans, pumpkins, and 


294 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


other vegetables were raised. In place of wooden 
or stone hoes and other agricultural utensils, these 
tribes preferred tools made of bone, the shoulder 
blade of a buffalo attached to a wooden handle being 
the common form of hoe used by these tribes before 
the advent of white men and the introduction of steel 
tools. 

In addition to their crops, these Indians relied upon 
the herds of buffalo for a food supply and hunted 
these animals on horseback after the manner of the 
true plains Indians. The bows used were much like 
those of the nomadic plains Indians, but were longer, 
as were the arrows. Among these tribes the stone- 
headed skull-cracker of the plains Indians was in 
use; but they also made use of the globe-headed 
wooden club and the gun-stock-shaped weapon. 
Lances with long blades were also used. Most of the 
tribes protected themselves with circular shields 
which were made of the thick hide of the buffalo’s 
neck, usually decorated and painted, and which 
would turn aside an arrow, a lance, or even the bul- 
let from a smooth bore musket. | 

As early as 1687 these Indians possessed horses, 
which is not surprising, as the Coronado expedition 
in search of the Seven Cities of Cibola camped 
among the Wichitas in 1541, and no doubt lost many 
of their horses at that time. In all probability, the 
adoption of horses by the western Indians was the 
direct cause of many tribes becoming nomadic, the 
facility of moving about by horseback and with horse 
travois, inducing village and agricultural tribes to 
abandon their ancestral modes of life in favor of the ~ 


INDIANS OF THE PLAINS 295 


easier means of livelihood afforded by following the 
buffalo. : 

Like the Southern Sioux and the Plains Nomads, 
these village Indians used the circular skin bull boat, 
but unlike their nomadic neighbors, these Indians 
kept their skin coracles permanently. 

Two types of houses were used, the commonest 
form being the earth lodge constructed of logs, poles, 
and grass and covered with sods and earth. These 
were dome shaped and were entered through a vesti- 
bule and were provided with a smoke hole at the top. 
The other form was a large structure of poles, 
thatched with grass, in beehive form. In addition 
to these, skin tepees were used as stgADOT ALD shel- 
ters during hunting trips. 

Within both the earth and grass eee bunks 
were placed along the sides and raised a short dis- 
tance from the ground to serve as beds at night and 
as chairs and tables during the day, the space be- 
neath being used for storage. Very often these 
bunks were partitioned off by skins or mats to pro- 
vide greater privacy for the various occupants. As 
household utensils, these Indians had pottery vessels, 
wooden bowls and spoons, spoons of buffalo and 
mountain-sheep horn, baskets and bags, trunks and 
cases of hide. 

The baby-carriers were quite different from those 
of the more easterly tribes, and were made of thin 
rods lashed side by side to an oval wooden frame and 
were provided with a curved head piece, as well as 
a bow of two willow wands. A small, specially 
made stool or bench was provided upon which to rest 


2S ee 


296 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


the head of the baby-carrier to raise the head higher 


than the foot when placed on the floor or on a bed. 

For smoking, these Indians used massive red or 
black stone, L-headed pipes with long, wooden stems 
which were carried in highly ornamental buckskin 
bags. In their religious beliefs, these Indians were 
not peculiar. They believed in various spirits or 
deities representing the forces of nature, as well as 


a ruling spirit known as Tirawa by the Pawnees and 


as the Lord of Life by the Mandans. Sacred and 
medicine bundles were in widespread use, and among 
some tribes, as the Hidatsas, these were so large and 
numerous that they were kept in shrines together 
with the ceremonial regalia, drums, charms, etc. 
Among these tribes, too, the buffalo sash was used, 
an amulet made of bison hair which was believed to 
transform an entire war party into apparent buf- 
falos when the charm was worn by the leader. 

Their games were of the usual sort, such as hoop 
and pole, double ball (played only by women), stick 
dice, woman’s football, shinny, the moccasin game, 
and, in the north, snow snake. 

In physical appearance these tribes varied more 
or less, but as a whole, they more nearly approached 
the true plains tribes, with the broad faces, promi- 
nent cheek bones, square chins, heavy noses, reced- 
ing foreheads, and narrow eyes of the typical plains 
Indian. 

Their costumes, aside from those of the Caddos, 
were very similar to the nomadic plains tribes, the 
men’s dress consisting of a soft tanned skin shirt, 
a breechcloth, long leggings, and moccasins. The 


4 
4 


BSUBMBUSURD ‘UISBOd0I 
vmoddryy “yonog stonboiy ‘seg IUBIVMEBIOT “Yonog 
MYOMAVAG AO SHA J, 


Uoyopunog ofa ‘umpuy uvnoruwaump ay) fo Una snyT 


Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation 


PAINTED BUFFALO-SKIN Rose, CRow INDIANS, MONTANA 


INDIANS OF THE PLAINS 297 


women wore skin gowns reaching from shoulders 
to ankles and having short open sleeves, together 
with short leggings and moccasins. Both sexes wore 
buffalo robes in winter, and later, trade blankets. 
The favorite headdress of the men was the war bon- 
net for those whose deeds or exploits entitled them 
to wear it, while the others wore one or more eagle 
feathers at the back of the head. The costumes of 
the Caddos were very distinct, being similar to those 
of the southeastern tribes. In later years, they 
copied the costumes of the Delawares, who had 
migrated from the east to the Caddo district. Like 
the Delawares the Caddos became experts in silver- 
work. Whereas all the other tribes of the group 
used hard-soled moccasins, the Caddos used the soft, 
one-piece moccasin of the eastern woodland tribes 
and, in recent years, employed the true Delaware 
moccasin. 

In their arts, these tribes approached the Plains 
Nomads, and decorated their garments, charms, 
pouches, and other articles with elaborate beadwork, 
quillwork, and painting. 

Coming now to the true plains Indians we find a 
number of tribes inhabiting the territory from Ne- 
braska to Canada and from northern Texas to the 
Rocky Mountains. Among the tribes grouped to- 
gether as Plains Nomads are the southerly Co- 
manches and Kiowas and Kiowa-Apaches of western 
Texas, Oklahoma, etc.; the Blackfeet, Assiniboins, 
and Crows of Montana and southern Canada; the 
Teton-Sioux, the Cheyennes, and the Arapahoes, 
Among these various tribes several racial and lin- 


298 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


guistic stocks are represented, the larger number 
being Siouan, while others are Algonquin, Shosho- 
nean, Athabascan, and Kiowan. 

As all these tribes were dependent upon the buf- 
falo for a living, they were of necessity nomadic and 
followed the herds in their migrations. But each 
tribe kept more or less strictly to its own territory 
and often had large and populous villages. All were 
expert horsemen and owned large herds of ponies, 
and all were noted for their prowess in battle. Ow- 
ing to the importance of horses to these Indians, and 
to the crippling effect their loss had upon a tribe, 
it became considered a high honor to capture horses 
from an enemy and many times war parties set out 
with the sole aim of stealing horses and made no 
attempt to molest or kill their tribal enemies unless 
forced to do so in self-defense. 

Although the buffaloes were their principal game, 
yet many other creatures were hunted with bow and 
arrow, or were trapped or driven into pounds. Fish- 
ing was not important; but where there were rivers 
with fish, these tribes captured them with willow 
traps or with bone hooks. Although there was no 
true agriculture, yet a certain amount of tobacco was 
raised, and nuts, wild grains, roots, etc., were col- 
lected and eaten, while berries and fruits were dried 
for winter use. 

Their principal weapon was the bow and arrow 
with which they were very expert. The bow used 
was very distinct from the long eastern and south- 
ern types. Although rarely over three and one-half 
feet in length, rather flat and of the double-curve 


y 
; 

‘ 
. 
‘ 


INDIANS OF THE PLAINS 299 


type, yet it was extremely powerful, and was often 
strengthened by sinews cemented to the back. Oc- 
casionally, the bows were made of horn. The ar- 
rows, about two feet in length, were provided with 
three long feathers, and the shafts were scored or 
grooved, either in straight or zigzag fashion, to per- 
mit the free flow of blood from a stricken animal or 
man. Originally, the arrowheads were of stone, 
bone, antler, or even dried buffalo gristle, but with 
the arrival of the white men, steel heads came into 
general use. 

In addition to bows and arrows, these tribes used 
long-bladed lances, which were sometimes combined 
with a bow, the latter weapon being fitted with a 
lance head at one extremity; and stone-headed skull- 
crackers. All used the circular buffalo-hide shield. 

The pipe used for smoking by these tribes was the 
so-called ‘‘peace-pipe’’ form with a heavy L-shaped 
red or black stone bowl, and long, flat, often carved, 
wooden stem. The pipe was kept in a specially made 
bag together with the tobacco and herbs used by 
the Indians, and these bags often exhibit the high- 
est and most elaborate type of bead, quill, and scalp- 
lock decorations. 

None of these nomadic tribes used true canoes, but 
all made the skin bull boats for crossing wide 
streams. For overland transportation, they of 
course used horses, the people riding, and the bag- 
gage, tents, and household utensils being carried on 
two poles or travois, one end of each pole being at- 
tached to a horse, the other ends trailing on the 
ground. To these poles was lashed an oval or cir- 


300 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


cular netted frame on which the various articles 
were packed. Before horses were used, similar but 
smaller travois were dragged by dogs. 

In their saddlery and horse trappings, these In- 
dians took great pride, and covered their saddlery 
with the most ornate and beautiful bead and silver 
decorations. Sometimes the horse’s entire head and 
neck were covered by a buckskin hood completely 
covered with the most magnificent beadwork. Two 
types of saddles were in use: one for the men, the 
other for the women. The former were made of 
wood or antlers and had low pommels and cantles, 
while the woman’s saddle was provided with an ex- 
tremely high pommel and cantle. Breast bands and 
cruppers were used, as well as bridles, although the 
latter were more ornamental than useful, as the 
ordinary rule was to use a rope twisted about the 
horse’s lower jaw. Handsomely beaded saddle- 
blankets of buckskin were also used, as well as rid- 
ing whips or quirts. Very often the men’s saddles 
served as pack saddles. For carrying goods on these 
the Indians used trunklike cases of rawhide for food 
and other articles, and soft leather cases for cloth- 
ing. or 

For dwellings these Indians used the conical tepee 
of skins with a movable wind flap at each side of the 
smoke-hole. An interior lining protected the oc- 
cupants from draughts of cold air. Usually these 
tepees were provided with comfortable back rests 
made of willow rods and supported on tripods or, 
if the camp was to be permanent for some time, 
raised couches were built which were supported on 


ee 
Se a 


INDIANS OF THE PLAINS 301 


forked sticks. In addition to the rawhide boxes and 
leather cases, the household utensils and furnish- 
ings consisted of buffalo robes, wooden bowls and 
spoons, horn spoons and dishes, stone-headed 
pounders, and stone mortars, a few skin-dressing 
tools, and occasionally a few baskets. Liquids were 
boiled by placing them in a piece of hide suspended 
in a hole in the earth, into which hot stones were 
dropped. 

In their religions these tribes varied somewhat, 
although all believed in a multiplicity of spirits and 
a supreme being, who was often considered the sun. 
Among their religious ceremonials the most impor- 
tant and famous was the sun dance, at which the 
men underwent terrible self-inflicted tortures as the 
fulfillment of vows made to the sun-god in return for 
favors shown during the preceding year. Ghost 
dances were also held, and the Peote ceremony 
(Chapter VIII) was important with some tribes. 

Medicine bundles and sacred bundles were com- 
mon, as were medicine shields and weapons. Secret 
societies were in vogue. Among the Kiowas, the 
Buffalo Doctors comprised a powerful cult or so- 
ciety, and, as we would expect, a great majority 
of the medicines, charms, and ceremonies of these 
tribes had to do with the buffalo. 

In their games these tribes differed little from 
the other Indians. In addition to true games, they 
had a number of forms of spinning tops and dolls 
for the children’s amusement. 

In their costumes, these tribes were the most 
picturesque and showy of any North American 


302 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


Indians, and it is their costume which has become 
almost universally accepted by the public as the 
typical get-up of any Indian. So widespread has 
this idea become that it is necessary for any Indian, 
who appears in moving pictures, in a circus, a side 
show, at a public function, or in a Wild West show, 
to don the costume of the Plains Nomads—war 
bonnet and all—in order to fulfill the public’s idea 
of what an Indian should look like in his native 
dress. 

The war bonnet, in particular, has become the 
white man’s ideal of the universal Indian headdress, 
although as a matter of fact, this was peculiar to 
comparatively few tribes and even among them. 
was not worn by every man. Indeed, the war bon- 
net was a badge of distinction and could not, accord- 
ing to tribal rules, be worn by a man until he had 
accomplished some brave and noteworthy feat. 
Ordinarily these Indians wore one or more eagle 
feathers, or a tuft of feathers and beadwork, at- 
tached to the hair on the back of the head, while at 
times, they wore fur or skin hoods or caps decorated 
with beadwork, feathers, or antelope or bison horns. 

Aside from the headdress, the costume of the 
men consisted of a short shirt with heavily fringed 
sleeves, a short breechcloth, heavily-fringed leg- | 
ging's, or leggings with broad flaps at the sides, and 
hard-soled, low moccasins. The woman’s dress con- 
sisted of a long buckskin gown with short, wide, 
fringed sleeves, short leggings, and moccasins, or 
in the case of some tribes, leggings and moccasins 
in one piece. 


aw 


INDIANS OF THE PLAINS 303 


All of these garments, as well as pipe bags, bow 
cases, quivers, knife sheaths, medicine bags, head- 
dresses, tobacco pouches, and the skin robes worn 
in cold weather, were beautifully made and elabo- 
rately decorated, for among all these tribes, the 
arts of painting, featherwork, quillwork, beadwork, 
and scalp-lock work were most highly developed. 
In the old days, the quillwork, and painting were 
of course predominant, and the women, who made 
all the quill embroidery and the decorative painting, 
became true artists. The men, however, were the 
artists who painted the pictures depicting battles, 
hunts, and other exploits upon the robes and tepees, 
and in this work they showed themselves excellent 
draughtsmen with a keen sense of form, some of 
the pictures being most realistic and full of action. 

With the introduction of glass beads, a new art 
was developed, although more or less of the old 
quillwork technique was employed in embroidering 
with beads. The various tribes adopted slightly 
different methods of sewing on the beads, the In- 
dians of the central district applying the beads in 
short loops, while those of the north and south sewed 
the beads on the groundwork separately, and pro- 


duced a smoother, more even result. Although the 


beads largely supplanted the quills for decorative 
art, yet for many purposes the former were prefer- 
able, and as a rule, both are combined in the orna- 
mental work of these tribes. 

In their patterns, these Indians differed markedly 
from the southern woodland, eastern woodland, or 
any of the northeastern and southeastern tribes 


304 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


already described. Curved lines and floral designs 
were never used. Instead, the figures were all angu- 
lar and were usually purely geometric, although con- 
ventionalized figures of horses, buffalo, birds, and 
other creatures, as well as tepees, human figures, 
and highly conventionalized designs which orig- 
inally may have been floral, abounded. 

Other objects employed by these tribes for orna- 
mental effects consisted of dentalium shells from 
the Pacific coast, which were obtained by trade, 
bear claws, elk teeth, bird-wing bones, fur, metal 
jinglers, silver, ribbon, colored cloth, scalp locks, 
and dyed harsetnea 

It is difficult to say which tribes reached the it. 
est development in these decorative arts. Probably 
the finest beadwork is that of the central tribes, such 
as the Teton-Sioux, Arapahoes, and Cheyennes, 
while the most carefully and the finest made gar- 
ments are those of the southern tribes, such as the 
Kiowas and Comanches. But these were not uni- 
versal nor hard and fast rules. Very often, speci- 
mens of the most magnificent bead- and quill-work 
are seen among the southern races; the northern 
Crows and Blackfeet produce marvelous. decorative 
work; and many of the beautifully tanned deerskin 
costumes, dyed or painted, wonderfully fringed, and 
raeenale decorated, are to be found among the 
northern tribes. 

Wherever it was possible to use any of the vari- 
ous decorative materials, these tribes did so. 
Women’s dresses were often loaded down with elk 
teeth, beadwork, and silver ornaments; the men’s — 


he 
i 


INDIANS OF THE PLAINS 305 


costumes, especially their ceremonial regalia, were 
frequently so covered with beads and scalp-lock 
trimmings that the foundation material was invis- 
ible. Even with the introduction of cloth and its 
substitution for skins, these Indians continued to 
decorate the material in the same manner, and 
the most utilitarian articles were covered with orna- 
mental work. 

Particularly was this the case itt the baby- 
carriers. Among the northern tribes these were 
made of oval boards pointed at the lower end and 
with a slipperlike case in which the baby was lashed. 
Among the central tribes, the case was attached to 
two sticks connected by crosspieces, while the south- 
ern tribes substituted boards for sticks. Among the 
central and northern tribes the true carrier or case 
was frequently used without the framework. 

Although these Plains Nomads have, in the past, 
caused more trouble to the encroaching whites than 
any other groups of Indians, and have fought stub- 
bornly and valiantly to preserve their ancestral 
homes and the herds of buffalo which were their 
very existence, yet, almost always, some of the 
tribes were friendly and were often allies of the 
whites. Moreover, much of the success of our In- 
dian fighters has been due to the aid rendered by 
Indian scouts, guides, and ‘‘dog soldiers.’’ 

To-day, all these tribes are peaceful and many 
have adopted the ways of civilization and have be- 
come prosperous farmers and ranchers and have 
succeeded in other professions. Many of the young 
men and women are college graduates, and many an 


306 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


Indian youth of these nomadic tribes has made a 
name for himself in athletic events. Still, many of 
the tribesmen adhere to their ancient mode of life, 
their picturesque costumes, and their skin tepees, 


and give a touch of the old frontier days to the 
modernized west. 


CHAPTER XVII 
INDIANS OF THE SOUTHWESTERN DESERTS 


NHABITING the deserts, the mountains, and the 
i mesas of our southwestern states and northern 
Mexico, are a number of tribes wholly different in 
racial and linguistic stocks, physical characters, 
mode of life, customs, dress, and habits from any 
of the true plains Indians. Owing to the great di- 
versity of customs and racial affinities among these 
tribes, they may be best considered when divided 
into three groups. These are the Desert Nomads, 
the Pueblos, and the Piman-Yuman-Seri tribes. 

Of these, the Desert Nomads are perhaps the best 
known of the warlike desert tribes, for they include 
the Navajos and true Apaches who, although inhab- 
iting the deserts of the far southwest and showing’ 
no resemblance in customs, arts or other characters 
to the far northern and eastern tribes, are, never- 
theless, of the same ancestral stock and speak dia- 
lects of the Athabascan tongue. 

Wanderers by nature, and ever noted for their 
savage, warlike character, these tribes have always 
been dreaded by the more peaceful sedentary In- 
dians, and in the past were dreaded equally by the 
whites of the regions where they lived. It must 


not be supposed that these fierce, desert nomads 
307 


308 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


devoted all their time to warfare, for they developed 
many arts and industries, had a social organization, 
and far from simple religious and ceremonial cus- 
toms. In a way, these Indians were a sort of ban- 
dittt, who gained their livelihood by hunting and by 
plundering their neighbors. But they also gathered 
many vegetal products, such as the seeds of wild 
plants, nuts, fruits, and berries, and even practiced 
agriculture in a small way. Fish, however, were 
never eaten, even when abundant, as these creatures 
were protected by a taboo. 

Moreover, for many years, the N avajos have been 
devoted to sheep-raising and have become pros- 
perous through this industry and the weaving of 
the famous Navajo rugs and blankets. Even the 
once-dreaded Apaches have become peaceful and 
earn a livelihood as laborers, cattlemen, farmers, 
etc. For hunting and in warfare, these tribes used 
short bows, rectangular in section, and backed with 
a layer of sinews glued to the wood. The arrows 
were of two forms; one of wood with stone or metal - 
heads, the other a long shaft of reed or cane with a 
wooden foreshaft carrying the stone or metal point. 
Other weapons of these tribes were knives and a 
peculiar form of war club or slung shot consisting 
of a heavy stone ball covered with hide and loosely 
attached to a long handle which was often pliable. 

Having used horses for a very long period, the 
Navajos being the first nomadic Indians to secure 
horses from the Pueblos, the tribes transported 
everything on horseback. Before they acquired 
horses they made long and forced marches afoot, 


INDIANS OF SOUTHWESTERN DESERTS 309 


carrying their belongings on their backs or on their 
dogs. 

Their dwellings were rude, dome-shaped huts of 
brush for summer use, and, at least among the Nava- 
jos, earth-covered houses or hogans of logs. The 
house furnishings consisted of innumerable blankets, 
baskets (at weaving which the Apaches were very 
expert), some crude pottery utensils, water bottles 
of coiled basketry coated with pitch, and similar 
household utensils. | 

The baby-carriers used were of two distinct types. 
That of the Apaches was an elliptical, wooden frame 
to which cross slats were tied, and had a head- 
protecting hoop of willow wands. Within this, the 
child was placed, sheathed in a laced-up case of 
deerskin. The Navajo cradle was composed of two 
wooden slabs fastened side by side to form a wide 
board upon which the child was lashed with deerskin 
thongs, its head being protected by a wide wooden 
hoop, and its feet resting on a footboard like that 
of the eastern tribes. 

For smoking, these tribes used pipes of the plains 
type but smaller, and cornhusk cigarettes, which 
were preferred to pipes except for ceremonial pur- 
poses. 

In their games, these tribes showed an eter 
gambling spirit and, since the introduction of Span- 
ish playing cards from Mexico, they have become 
inveterate card players. Pheer their gambling 
was confined to horse races, archery and athletic 
contests, shinny, the dice- ac bowl game, and hoop 
and pole. 


310 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


Their religions, especially that of the Navajos, 
are very complex, as are their ceremonials. The 
Navajos’ religion includes a vast number of deities, 
such as animal gods, nature gods, local gods, etc., 
with a most involved and extensive mythology, hun- 
dreds of carefully formulated songs and prayers, 
complicated ceremonies, and innumerable rites. 
Many of their most important and long-drawn-out 
ceremonies are for the purpose of curing the sick, 
while others are of a strictly religious nature, and 
are accompanied by the use of masks, dry paintings, 
and mysterious secret rituals. Among these In- 
dians, the most sacred and revered deity is the 
‘*Woman Who Rejuvenates Herself,’’ who i 18 prob- 
ably the symbolic goddess of nature. 

In many of these ceremonials, the costumes and 
regalia are most elaborate aie remarkable. Im- 
mense headdresses of painted wood are used by the 
Apaches in their devil dance. These strange affairs 
are also decorated with feathers and often project 
several feet from the wearers’ heads, and in some 
respects they remind one of the wooden headdresses 
worn by the Pueblo Indians in their dances. 3 

Charms and amulets, as well as sacred bundles, 
are in common use by these tribes, and the Apaches 
in particular have the greatest faith in such talis- 
mans. They believe that a crude, wooden figurine, 
carved from a tree riven by lightning, is a sure 
protection from thunderbolts, and that ocean shells 
cut into certain shapes will prevent illness when 
they are worn or carried on the person. 

In their costumes, these tribes varied somewhat. 


Se gla a 


INDIANS OF SOUTHWESTERN DESERTS 311 


Among all the tribes, the men wore deerskin shirts 
with fringes, breechcloths, and foot coverings, the 
Navajo footwear being true moccasins, whereas the 
Apaches used high boots with hard soles turned up 
at the toes. To this costume the Navajos added 
leggings, consisting of flat pieces of skin wrapped 
about the legs, below the knees, and held in place 
by woven garters. In addition to these typical cos- 
tumes, there was the distinctive dress of the Jica- 
rillas (an Apache tribe) who, having been influenced 
by contact with the southern plains Indians, wore 
long, heavily-fringed leggings and low moccasins. 
The typical Apache headdress was a cap orna- 
mented with painted designs, and bearing a few 
feathers or antelope, buffalo, or cow horns, or a 
bristly crest or comb of hair suggestive of the 
Roman legionaries. Occasionally, too, a war bonnet 
was used, but these were the exception, and were 
borrowed, copied, or stolen from the plains Indians. 
The Navajo headdress was usually a fillet or band, 
sometimes ornamented with silver or turquoise 
beads, and strikingly like the headgear of the Chil- 
ean Mapuches who resemble the Navajos in many 
ways. 
The costume of the Apache woman consisted of 
a rather short deerskin skirt, a deerskin cape or 
poncho, and high, hard-soled, upturned-toed boots. 
The Navajo women wore simple, woven woolen 
gowns, and moccasins to which were fastened long 
strips of leather which were wound about the legs 
like spiral putties. Different from either of these 
costumes was that of the Jicarilla women, who wore 


312 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


long gowns of soft tanned buckskin, short leggings, 
and moccasins. 

None of the garments of these tribes, nor their 
other articles, were as highly decorated as those of 
the plains Indians, although the Apaches attained 
great dexterity, and showed an artistic taste, in 
their painted and beadwork ornamentation. In 
their designs, the Apaches showed distinct indi- 
viduality and preferred fine lines with delicate and 
intricate patterns, to the broad, heavy masses and 
splashes of color typical of the plains tribes. Sun- 
like and star figures, triangles, and steplike designs 
are abundant, while alternating lines of black and 
white, or bands of lighter and darker shades, are 
typical of their beadwork. Bh ol 

In their basketry, also, the Apaches showed an 
esthetic sense and a high state of workmanship. 
The best of the baskets were made in the coiled 
weave, often showing beautiful patterns mainly in 
geometric forms, but often representing human 
and animal figures. Many of their baskets are very 
large and of vase shape designed for storage 
purposes. , 

The Navajos, on the other hand, showed their 
artistic and industrial talents in their textile and 
silverwork. On the crudest of hand looms they 
wove soft, durable world-famous rugs, blankets, 
garters, belts, saddle blankets, and cloth, all of de- 
lightful characteristic patterns and harmoniously 
blended colors, using the wool of their own sheep, 
ravelings of trade cloth, and commercial yarns. 
Their silverwork, which reached a high state of 


ea ee. 


INDIANS OF SOUTHWESTERN DESERTS 313 


development, was apparently of comparatively 
modern origin, and was probably copied from the 
silverwork of the Mexicans. However that may be, 
the Navajos seem to have been born silversmiths, 
and with the crudest of tools, they produce silver 
bracelets, brooches, earrings, buttons, rings, buckles, 
and other ornaments which are really remarkable. 
Very distinct from these desert. nomads, and 
unique among all American tribes in their mode of 
life, are the Pueblos. Although now confined to a 
rather small area in New Mexico and Arizona, they 
once inhabited a wide stretch of territory extending 
over Utah, Colorado, and part of Nevada. Accord- 
ing to their traditions, the Pueblo tribes originally 
existed as small bands who migrated from various 
localities, and, for greater safety, established homes 
in caves and under projecting cliffs, on mesa tops, 
and in valleys, wherever they could raise their crops 
and could find water for irrigation. But, little by 
little, owing largely to raids by nomadic and preda- 
tory tribes, the villages were abandoned, until at 
the time of the Spanish conquest, only seventy 
pueblos remained, which have dwindled so that at 
the present time only twenty-eight remain. ) 

_ But even though we know much of the Pueblos 
and their ancestors, the cliff dwellers’ life and hab- 
its, no one can say positively who the Pueblos are 


or whence they came. Many theories have been 


suggested, among others that they are the descend- 


ants of the mound builders who were driven from 


the Mississippi and Ohio valleys by warlike tribes 


314 THE AMERICAN INDIAN © | 


or even by the Norsemen. The last theory is, how- 
ever, scarcely tenable, for the date of the Vikings’ 
arrival in America is placed between 1000 and 1100 
a.pD. and we know, from prehistoric remains and 
geological evidence, that the ancestors of the pres- 
ent-day Pueblos dwelt in cliffs and houses in the 
Southwest, and possessed many of the arts, customs, 
industries, and characters of the living Pueblos, 
hundreds if not thousands of years before the ac- 
cepted date of the Norsemen’s invasion. 

Moreover, the Pueblo Indians are not, as is gen- 
erally supposed, all of one tribe or even of one race. 
Indeed, four distinct racial stocks are represented 
among the Pueblos, these being: the Keresan, the 
Zufian, the Shoshonean, and the Tanoan. And each 
of these has its own pueblos and its own customs, 
arts and other individual characteristics. Thus, the 
Tanoan people inhabit the pueblos of Taos, Picuris, 
Sandia, and Isleta of the Tigua group; the villages 
of San Juan, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Tesuque, 
Nambe, Pojoaque, and Hano of the Tewas group 
in Arizona; and Jemez of the Jemez-Pecos group. 
The Keresans inhabit the pueblos of Cochiti, San 
Felipe, Santa Ana, Santo Domingo, Acoma, and 
Laguna. The Zunis occupy their own three pueblos, 
and the Hopis (known also as Moquis) are con- 
fined to Walpi, Sichomovi, Mishongnovi, Shipaulovi, 
Shongopovi, Oraibi, Hotavila and Pakavi. 

The most outstanding characteristics of all these 
tribes are their houses and villages. It was, in fact, 
these which gave to these Indians the name Pueblos, 
the Spanish word for town, village, or place, which 


INDIANS OF SOUTHWESTERN DESERTS 315 


was bestowed upon these tribes by the early Span- 
jards in order to distinguish them from the nomadic 
Indians. Mainly for defensive purposes, the 
Pueblo houses are built one over another in clusters 
or communities, each tier being set back of the one 
below, much in the manner of our New York zoning 
system, so that the roof of one house forms the door- 
yard of the next above it. A few years ago the 
Zunis had six such tiers of dwellings, but as the 
need of defense from roving warlike Indians has 
passed, the Indians to-day build single dwellings 
apart from the communal groups. 

Hintrance to the lowest tier of houses, and some- 

times to the others, was through a skylight or hateh- 
way in the roof. This was reached by ladders which 
were pulled up at night or when an enemy appeared, 
thus transforming the village into a fairly impreg- 
nable fortress. 
_ Ordinarily, the houses were of sandstone which, 
occurring in thin strata, was easily quarried. In 
ancient days many of the Indians squared and faced 
the stone slabs of which their dwellings were built, 
and even placed the layers of stone so as to produce 
a banded effect; but in recent times this was rarely 
done, the Indians contenting themselves with cover- 
ing the stonework with adobe plastering. Although 
adobe blocks or bricks are used in the construction 
of some pueblos, these are of recent date and were 
introduced by the Spaniards in the sixteenth cen- 
tury. A not uncommon aboriginal practice, how- 
ever, was to roll balls or ‘‘loaves’’ of adobe, and use 
these in house-building in place of stones. 


316 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


Owing to the fact that, previous to the arrival of 
the Spaniards, the Pueblos had no domestic animals 
except dogs, and hence had no adequate means of 
transportation, it was necessary for the timbers 
and roof beams to be dragged by hand for long dis- 
tanees. Consequently the rooms in ancient times 
were very small. Across the main beams, smaller 
timbers were placed crosswise, and over these, 
osiers, grass, and bark, the whole being covered 
with a coating of adobe mud to form ee ceilings, 
and floors. 

For better protection, both from enemies and 
cold, the doorways were always small, while the 
interiors of the houses were partly lighted by tiny 
windows glazed with thin slabs of crystallized 
gypsum or selenite. This served very well during 
the daytime, and at night the family fire furnished 
the illumination. Originally this was in a small 
stone fire box in the center of the floor, the smoke 
finding an exit through the trapdoor above; but it 
was supplanted, after the Spanish conquest, by cor- 
ner fireplaces and chimneys surmounted with pot- 
tery vessels with the bottoms removed, the vessels 
being placed one above another to form veritable 
chimney pots. The floors were either of hard, plas- 
tered earth, of adobe, or of stone flagging, and were 
kept scrupulously clean. 

‘As a rule, the kitchen was apart from the main 
living room, and in this was baked the time-honored 
Pueblo corn bread in waferlike sheets cooked on 
smooth stone slabs over a fire. Much of the cooking 
was, however, done out of doors, and nowadays, 


INDIANS OF SOUTHWESTERN DESERTS 317 


many of the Indians use the dome-shaped Spanish 
type of oven. 

In sharp contrast to the other desert-dwelling 
tribes, the Pueblos are preéminently agricultural- 
ists, and in their well-tilled and cleverly irrigated 
fields they raise a great variety of both native and 
introduced vegetables, grains, and fruits, which are 
augmented by wild vegetal foods and game. In 
addition to these foodstuffs, the modern Pueblos 
raise horses, cattle, sheep, asses, goats, and poultry. 

Nowadays, little hunting is done, owing to the 
scarcity of game; but communal rabbit hunts are 
still carried out. In these the men and boys take 
part. Mounted on ponies, they surround the ani- 
mals within a predetermined area, and driving them 
together, kill them with the win hore an 
like rabbit sticks. 

In former years, the Pueblos made use of many 
game charms or fetishes, which represented various 
creatures, such as wolves, eagles, bears, pumas, 
badgers, etc., together with moles, ground owls, 
coyotes, and others. The cardinal directions of 
these, the Indians believed, magically controlled the 
game. When an animal was killed, the fetish was 
dipped in its blood, a custom somewhat akin to that 
of the South’ American tribes who always make 
offerings and profuse OCW to any animal they 
destroy. 

In old days, of course, the Pueblos used bows and 
arrows (although firearms are now in general use), 
as well as many forms of traps and snares, while 
rabbits and other burrowing animals were often 


318 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


drowned out of their holes by diverting water, as in 
irrigating. 

As was the custom among the Apaches and Nava- 
jos, fish were taboo, and were never eaten. Oddly 
enough, too, the Taos Pueblos used snowshoes, 
which, although smaller than those of the northern 
Indian tribes, were no doubt derived from them in 
prehistoric times. 

Being agriculturists with fixed dwellings and 
towns, the Pueblos were naturally of a docile and 
peaceful nature, the word ‘‘Hopi’’ meaning peaceful 
people. But they were by no means either timid 
or cowardly, and in their former battles with the 
Apaches, Navajos, and Utes they invariably gave 
a good account of themselves, and fought most vali- 
antly, and often successfully, against these most 
savage and warlike of Indians. 

Their weapons were bows, arrows, and clubs, to- 
gether with shields, although the latter were carried 
more for their supposed magical powers of pro- 
tection than for their actual efficiency. 

Among the Pueblos, societies and clans held an 
important place, and many occupations or profes- 
sions were the perquisites of certain societies or 
guilds, such as the warrior societies, the ‘‘Mud 
heads’’ or sacred clowns; the medicine societies, ete. 
Owing no doubt to their fairly secure sedentary 
life, their abundance of food, and their long dreary 
winters with nothing to occupy them, the Pueblos 
developed a very devout and complex religion, and 
a most elaborate series of dances and. ceremonials, 
the ultimate purpose of most of these being to pro- 


~~ Fer i 


_ INDIANS OF SOUTHWESTERN DESERTS 319 


duce rain, which was of the highest oly mien to 
these tribes. 

In many of their ceremonies, the Indians don 
grotesque masks supposed to represent various 
mythological personages of great power. Among 


_ these are the Koyemashi or Mud heads already men- 


tioned, while others are highly conventionalized rep- 
resentations of human and animal heads, each with 
its sacred and symbolic significance. Among the 
Yunis and Hopis, it is a common custom to make 
miniature figures representing the various Kachinas 
or sacred personages of their ceremonials, and these 
are given to the children as dolls or toys. 

Dances play a very important part in all of these 
ceremonials, the dancers being accompanied with 
songs or chants, and by musical instruments such 
as turtle-shell rattles, gourd rattles, rattling deer 
hoofs, cones of tin, jinglers of shells, and drums 
which were formerly of pottery but are now of wood 
and which are beaten with a curious, flexible drum- 
stick with the end bent in circular form. 

So intensely religious are the Pueblos, that almost 
every act or undertaking is accompanied by a cere- 


- monial or a dance, these manifestations of a desire 


to invoke divine aid varying from the well-known 
snake dance and corn dance. to placing plumed 
prayer sticks on shrines or elsewhere, or scattering 
the sacred meal. 

As household utensils, the Pueblos possessed a 
vast amount of very highly finished and beautiful 
pottery vessels, the Pueblo women having attained 
a remarkable skill as potters, and the Pueblos, from 


320 THE AMERICAN INDIAN... 


prehistoric days, having produced the best pottery. 
of all North American peoples. All of their ceramic 
ware, except cooking utensils, are usually highly 
decorated by paintings in geometrical designs. 
Formerly figures were sometimes used, and animal 
and bird-shaped receptacles or effigy vessels are 
known. Although various’ colors are used in their 
pottery decorations, the most characteristic designs 
are in black and mbites 

In addition to their pottery, the Pretilas, te ex- 
cellent baskets, although these tribes never reached 
the perfection in basketry that was attained by the 
Indians of California. Mats, woven of yucca strips, 
were also used, for bedding, for placing under food, 
and for covering the skylights of the houses, as well 
as for lining graves, and to prevent sacred objects 
from touching the floor, as for example bryen sticks 
in process of ro tanta chats 

Textiles were also widely used, the Beauies Vos 
time immemorial growing, ginning, spinning, and. 
weaving cotton. Their cotton cloth was, in fact, an 
important article of trade, and formed a large part 
of the costumes of men and women. With the intro- 
duction of sheep, wool took the place of cotton for 
many purposes, and the Hopis and Zufis, especially, 
became noted as weavers of woolen blankets, rugs, 
garters, belts, etc. In fact it is probable that the 
wool-weaving art of the Navajos was learned from 
the Pueblo women who had been taken BERENS 
and adopted into the Navajos tribes. . 

For domestic appliances, the Pueblos used niokabian 
and grinding troughs; mortars and pestles ; stools 


INDIANS OF SOUTHWESTERN DESERTS 321 
of wood; boxes for containing feathers; stirring 
sticks for use in cooking; digging sticks and hoes 
for agriculture; brushes of grass, one end of the 
brush being used for the ‘hair, the other for sweep- 
ing the floors; gourd and wooden dippers; cradles 
or baby-carriers of wood; and crude wooden looms. 
_ Originally, the Pueblos wore costumes of soft 
tanned leather or homemade cotton and woolen 
cloth, together with feather robes and other gar- 
ments, and winter robes made of strips of rabbit 
skin. But to-day, clothing of conventional cut and 
machine-made material is the rule. However, the 
Indians still adhere more or less to their leggings 
and moccasins, the latter being of the hard-soled 
type and those of the Taos Indians showing the 
influence of the néighboring Utes and Jicarillas. 
During ceremonies, the old-time costumes are worn, 
together with feather decorations and highly orna- 
mented regalia. At such times, heel bands of beau- 
tiful quillwork are worn with sky-blue moccasins, 
and truly gorgeously painted, beaded and quill- 
embroidered, and fringed garments of buckskin are 
used. | . 

_ As ornaments, the Pueblos are fond of necklaces 
_ of beads; shell, turquoise and silver (the latter 
_ being perquisites of the women), earrings of the 
_ Same materials, and belts ornamented by large silver 
disks laced to a leather strap. Buttons of silver 
are used for fastening moccasins and ornamenting 
these and the leggings; and finger rings and brace- 
lets, often studded with turquoise, are worn in pro- 
fusion by the women, especially on gala occasions. 


B22. oy THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


Formerly, mosaics of turquoise on wood were used 
as ear pendants by the women of the Hopis and 
Zunis, and in their hair they used combs of the 
same construction. The turquoise-work is now al- 
most a forgotten art, although the Keres of Santo 
Domingo Pueblo have revived the ancient art of 
making turquoise pendants and jet mosaics on shell, 
- which find a ready market among the hundreds of 
white visitors and tourists who now swarm through 
Pueblo land each year. | 

Aside from such articles as are made by these 
Indians solely for commercial purposes, little of 
true Indian origin now remains, and even among the 
conservative Zuflis and Hopis, weaving is almost a 
lost art. In a few years, the picturesque and inter- 
esting Pueblos will be scarcely distinguishable from 
their Mexican neighbors, and only in their dances 
and ceremonials will they retain the customs of their 
ancestors. | 

Last of the desert Indians are the tribes belong- 
ing to the Piman-Yuman-Seri group, which includes 
the Yumas, Mohaves, Walapis, Havasupis, Mari- 
copas, and Cocopas of the Yuman linguistic family ; 
the Pimas, Papagos, Opatas, and Yaquis of the 
Piman stock, and the Seris, who are of a distinct 
linguistic race. Several of these tribes are often, 
though erroneously, referred to as Apaches, though 
they are of totally distinct race.* 

Of these various tribes, the Yuman tribes occupy 
the territory drained by the lower Colorado River 


1 According to some ethnologists, ‘the Yaquis are more closely 
related to the Apaches than to the Piman-Yuman tribes. 


INDIANS OF SOUTHWESTERN DESERTS 393 


and its tributaries in Arizona and California, with 
the Havasupi in Cataract Canyon of the Grand 
Canyon of Arizona, and the Cocopas in Lower Cali- 
fornia. The Piman tribes occupy the basins of the 
Gila and Salt rivers in Arizona, and extend into 
Mexico. The Opatas are chiefly on the Rio Sonora, 
while the Yaquis occupy Sonora, mainly on the 
stream that bears their name. The Seris, sole sur- 
vivors of a separate linguistic stock, inhabit Tiburén 
Island in the Gulf of California, and the adjacent 
Mexican coast districts. | 

Although all of these tribes differed in some ways, 
and each had its peculiarities, yet in many ways all 
were similar. All were more or less agricultural 
and were not truly nomadic. All secured much of 
their provender by gathering wild vegetables, fruits, 
tubers, ete., and all hunted such game as their re- 
spective habitats afforded. | 

Among the Pimas, the typical house was a dome- 
shaped structure erected over a shallow excavation, 
and constructed of a heavy framework supporting 
mesquite brush covered with arrow-weed thatch, 
and plastered with mud, and with the doorway fac- 


_ ing the east. Near the house, a separate shelter, 


Ae SRE eS 


consisting of a roof without walls, was erected for 
cooking purposes. 

The Pimas are mainly vegetarians, raising large 
quantities of grain and gathering mesquite and tor- 
nillo beans, wild berries, fruits, roots, and seeds. 
For meat they use rabbits, birds, and fish, and, in 
former times, hunted deer. | 

Clothing troubled the Pimas but little, the men’s 


> 


394 THE AMERICAN INDIAN. 


costume, in past years, consisting mainly of a ’ 
breechcloth, rawhide sandals, and a robe of skin in q 
cold weather. The dress of the Pima women ~ 


amounted to little more, consisting of a strip of — 


native woven cotton about the thighs, and, occa- — 
sionally, a scanty cape or cloak over the shoulders. — 
Facial painting and tattooine, and body Panes q 
were almost universal. q 

Although apparently so primitive, yet the Pimas 3 
were by no means lacking in arts. Their baskets — 
are famed for their beauty and quality, the typical — 
form being bowl shaped, and having decorations — 
made in black of interwoven strands of the fiber — 
of the unicorn plant in geometrical patterns, and — 
often further embellished with red-pigment designs. — 
Very often these Pima baskets are of huge size — 
for storage purpose or as granaries, and are con- — 
structed in place on the tops of the houses. 4 

A typical Pima device is the utensil known as the , 


Kiho, used for carrying burdens. The body of this ~ 


itensil ia netted. of Bbex arith pian patterns — 
in openwork, sometimes colored, and is: supported 3 


by a wooden hoop and four cross poles, the whole — 


being carried by a head band or tump line. This — 
device, by the way, is found among many fronted 4 
American tribes. a 

Pottery-making is also a Pima industry, many of a 


_ their vessels being well formed and most attractively 4 : 


decorated. In beadwork they show excellent ability — 


and an artistic taste, their bead collars and neck- _ 


laces woven in a form of loopstitch being very beau- : 
tiful in design, pattern, and color combinations. In — 


INDIANS OF SOUTHWESTERN DESERTS 325 


their dances the Pimas wear crude masks made from 
gourds. Records of all important events are kept 
by means of sticks carved and colored in symbolic 
designs. 

In contrast to the Pima dwellings are the houses 
of the related Papagos. These structures are 
formed of three forked posts supporting a ridge- 
pole, with shorter posts set in a circle to form the 
wall timbers. Poles are then placed across from 
ridgepole to wall supports, and the whole is thatched 
with grass or arrow weed and covered with mud. 
Another form of Papago house is rectangular and 
made of wattle and daub construction. 

Like the Pimas, the Papagos are largely vege- 
tarian in diet and although they cultivate some 
vegetables and corn they depend more upon mes- 
quite and tornillo beans, grass seeds, cactus fruits, 
and roots, which are eked out by small game and 
occasional deer. 

Except in minor details the Papago arts were a AE 
those of the Pimas, and in their costumes the tribes 
differed little. The Papago men wore breechcloths, 
and at times a cotton poncho, and their rawhide 
sandals were of double thickness. The women wore 
a long dress of deerskin or a close-fitting, sleeveless 
waist, and a native cotton skirt extending below the 
knees. Many of the old women wore only the skirt; 
but the younger women covered the upper portion 
of the body. 

_ Perhaps the best known of this racial group are 
the Yaquis who, since time immemorial, have re- 
sisted the encroachments and oppressions of the 


326 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


Mexicans, and have won a reputation for courageous 
and savage fighting that is only exceeded by that of 
our Apaches. During the various Mexican revolu- 
tions, thousands of Yaquis have served as irregular 
froape under various leaders and have done good 
work; thousands have been deported to Yucatan; 
tHeuibarls have been sold into virtual slavery; thou- 
sands have been killed in fighting or butchered out 
of hand; but still the Yaquis refuse to submit to 
Mexican tyranny. To-day nearly all the surviving 
members of the tribe profess Mishel te eth and are 
civilized. 

These Indians dwell in fairly large communities 
and depend mainly upon agriculture, cultivating the 
restricted soil of their fertile valleys. Their cus- 
toms are largely those of the Mexicans, but a few 
aboriginal habits, traits, and religious ceremonies 
still prevail among them. Their houses are rect- 
angular, built of poles and thatched with reeds, and 
have a flat or slightly sloping grass roof eovered 
with adobe mud. 

Their baskets are of excellent quality, ‘especially 


their double-weave baskets with one basket woven | 


inside another, the weave being continuous from the 
starting point at the bottom of the inner basket to 
the base of the outer one where the work ends. So 
fine are some examples of the Yaqui twilled basketry 
that they can only be compared with the best Pan- 
ama hats. In addition to basketry, the Yaquis make 
excellent pottery, and weave very good cotton and 
woolen cloth on hand looms. 

In their ceremonials they use elaborately ontved 


es 


_ INDIANS OF SOUTHWESTERN DESERTS 327 


_ wooden masks, often painted, and with fierce, bris- 
tling eyebrows, mustaches, and beards of horsehair. 
Feather wands are also used, as well as flutes, 
drums, and rattles of various forms. One peculiar 
type of rattle is made of dried cocoons filled with 
pebbles and strung on cords and wrapped about the 
dancer’s legs. 

As weapons, the Yaquis now prefer firearms, but 
many still adhere to the old-time bows and arrows 
which are carried in well-made bow case and quiver 
combinations made of skin. They also use large, 
circular shields of cowhide and jaguar skin, which 
are excellent protections from arrows. 

At the present time, the Mexican government is 
planning a campaign of extermination against these 
Indians who have resented various oppressions on 
the part of the Mexicans. Perhaps, as in the past, 
the Yaquis may be victorious (as we may sincerely 
hope) ; but the chances are that the Mexican troops, 
with their friendly Indian allies, and equipped with 
airplanes, bombs, poison gas, and all the other 
devilish paraphernalia of modern warfare, will suc- 
ceed in their efforts and that, very soon, the Yaquis, 
as a tribe, will be wiped from the face of the earth. 
Another tribe of this group is the Yuma. Their 
houses, at the present time, are very similar to those 
of the Yaquis, but have the walls constructed of 
two layers of poles with the intervening space filled 
with mud. Formerly this tribe used the dome- 
shaped, pole-framed, brush and mud-covered house, 
mueh like that of the Pimas. 

Oddly enough, the Yumas, who are most primi- 


398 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


tive In many ways, use a baby-carrier which is the — 
most comfortable and elaborate of those of any 
tribe. This cradle is well and neatly made of bas- 
ketry and is padded and upholstered and provided 
with a pillow made of a circular pad. Over the head 
is a broad band, decorated with bright-colored cloth 
and beads, and ornamented with feathers. 

Living as they do in a semitropical climate, these 
Indians have little need of clothing, and in the past, 
the Yumas generally dispensed with garments al- 
together. Later, they adopted breechcloths for the 
men, and a form of short, double apron of bark 
strips for the women. Both sexes used robes of 
rabbit skins in cold weather, and at times protected 
their feet with sandals of yucca fiber or horsehide. 

Like the related tribes, the Yumas raised a few 
vegetables and gathered wild fruits, nuts, seeds, 
etc., and hunted small game, while fish were caught 
in the streams. For boats, these Indians used bun- 
dles of reeds or balsas. 

In their pottery, the Yumas showed skill and art, 
much of their pottery ware being of excellent qual- 
ity. Among their ceramics are many human figures 
showing the characteristic face and body painting 
for which these Indians are famous. Formerly they 
were given to painting themselves from head to 
foot, some appearing solid black, others red, others 
blue, ete. 

Slightly different in their houses and a few other 
details are the Mohaves. Their dwellings are coni- 
cal or dome shaped, and are erected over a circular 
hole about three feet in depth. The framework was 


INDIANS OF SOUTHWESTERN DESERTS 329 


formerly of posts and poles covered with thatch and 
mud, although to-day the houses usually have verti- 
cal walls and the thatch is secured in place by means 
of wooden strips or battens. Their food supply was 
derived from the same sources as that of the related 
tribes. Their only true arts were basketry, bead- 
work of high quality, and pottery. The breechcloths 
of the men and the short skirts of the women were 
woven of shredded willow bark, while the sandals 
were of badger skin. Rabbit or wild-rat skin robes 
were worn in winter, and served also as bedding. 

Closely related to the Yumas and other tribes de- 
scribed are the Cocopas, although, from ancient 
times, these Indians appear to have been at enmity 
with all the neighboring tribes. In nearly all re- 
spects, the Cocopas were practically identical with 
the other Yuman tribes. But their bows were more 
powerful, though crudely made, and their cane ar- 
rows had hardwood tips. Bows and arrows were 
carried in basket-work quivers. Their houses were 
mere brush shelters for summer and wattle-and- 
mud-walled huts for winter. Breechcloths and short 
skirts were the only clothes used by men and women 
respectively. 

The ‘‘People of the Blue Water,’’ as the Hava- 
supi call themselves, dwell in the depths of Cataract 
Cafion, with the towering rim of the canon walls 
nearly three thousand feet above their little villages 
and garden plots. Here, in an equable climate and 
a fertile soil, the Havasupis raise melons, beans, 
sunflowers, peaches, figs, and many garden veg- 
etables and various grains, and find an abundance 


330 § THE AMERICAN INDIAN | 
of wild berries, nuts, roots, etc. In the winter, the — 
Indians leave the cafion ane. ranging the surround- — 
ing mountains, hunt deer, mountain sheep, and bear, | | 
whose flesh, cut into strips and dried, provides a 
supply of meat for the ensuing year. The skins are — 
saved, tanned, and used for clothing, while the sur- 
plus hides are traded with other tribes, particularly 
the Hopis. 

The Havasupi house was formerly of brush and 
tules in conical form; but to-day most of these In- 
dians dwell in neat, ea houses. 

In their dress, these Indians were far ahead of | 
the Piman or Yuman tribes mentioned. The men — 
wore a poncho-like shirt of deerskin, with loose, 
fringed sleeves, and belted at the waist; a deerskin 
breechcloth; fringed deerskin leggings reaching to 
the hips; and high-topped moccasins. The dress of 
the women was made of two deerskins sewed to- 
gether with openings for head and arms, belted at 
the waist, and reaching to below the knees, and with 
the edges handsomely fringed. For extra warmth, 
and for bedding, soft robes of woven strips of rabbit 
skins were used. 

Their principal art was basketry, the Havasupi 
baskets being beautifully made and in much demand 
by neighboring tribes. By coating baskets with 
clay, these Indians produced cooking utensils, while 
receptacles for liquids were formed by weaving 
bottle-shaped baskets and covering them with a 
watertight coating of pinion gum. 

Last of this group of far southwestern tribes are 
the Seris, a very primitive, formerly hostile, and 


INDIANS OF SOUTHWESTERN DESERTS 331 


little known race. On Tiburén Island, the Seri 
houses are mere shelters of brush, sometimes built 
in groups, and often covered with a sea-turtle’s shell. 
Their food is mainly fish, mollusks, turtles, and 
water fowl, with some land game and such vege- 
tables as wild mesquite beans, cactus fruits, etc. 

Clothing consisted of short kilts and, sometimes, 
a loose-sleeved shirt woven of vegetable fiber, and 
at times robes of pelican skins sewed together with 
sinew thread. Belts and necklaces were made of 
dressed snakeskin, dressed deerskin, and of braided 
human hair. 

Despite their extremely primitive state, the Seris 
used crude looms for weaving textiles of fiber and 
hair, and awls of bone and hardwood for making 
basketry. Some fairly good pottery was made, but 
as the Seris ordinarily preferred their food raw, 
there was little need of cooking utensils. Conveni- 
ent sized sea shells served as cups, ladles, and 
dishes. The basketry was of the coiled type, usually 
bowl-shaped, and not badly made. Stone hammers 
were employed for cracking bones to obtain the 
marrow and for grinding food and grain, and 
chipped stone blades were used in cutting, scraping, 
and for similar purposes. 

In hunting, bows and arrows were used, the bows 
being crude but powerful, while the arrows were 
stone, and later, metal tipped and beautifully made. 
Turtles and fish were captured by means of har- 
poons pointed with bone, stone, fire-hardened wood, 
or iron, and fitted with cane shafts. Occasionally 
these weapons were twenty feet in length and 


332 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


formed of several pieces of wood lashed together. 

Household utensils, aside from the few baskets 
and shells and pottery fragments, were practically — 
nil, but a crude type of baby-carrier was used. This 
consisted of a bowed cane with cross sticks lashed — 
to it and was supplied with a mattress or cushion — 
of pelican skin and pelican down. Beadwork pouches 
of good quality were made, and some of the Seri 
bead and shell embroidery is excellent. 

For crossing the Gulf of California, the Seris 
made use of reed balsas or rafts, tapering at the 
ends. These were not only buoyant and seaworthy 
but were actually graceful in form, and were often 
twenty-five feet in length by nearly three feet in 
beam. : 

Innumerable highly colored and ridiculous stories 
have been told about these Seri Indians. They have 
been pictured as terribly savage and courageous 
fighters, as enemies to every stranger, and as canni- 
bals, head-hunters, giants, and what not. Many 
writers have credited them with almost superhuman 
powers of endurance and speed in running, and they 
have ever been surrounded with a wholly unwar- 
ranted halo of romance, mystery, and imagination. 
Most of the tales are as inaccurate and exaggerated 
as are the pictures showing the Seris as gigantic 
warriors garbed in war bonnets and fringed buck- 
skin. The truth is that the Seris are a primitive, 
undernourished, rather undersized, and far from 
intelligent or warlike tribe, the degenerate descend- 
ants of some race which died out from its inability 
to take care of itself or to progress beyond the most 


INDIANS OF SOUTHWESTERN DESERTS 333 


primitive state. In a way they are the prototypes 
of the Onas and Yahgans of Tierra del Fuego, who, 
likewise, have been the subjects of many exaggerated 
and wholly fictional yarns. 

Like all savages, or civilized men for that matter, 
the Seris will fight when cornered or in self-defense 
or in defense of their lands and families; and in 
the past they have resisted, and successfully, _at- 
tempts of Mexicans to land on and enter their terri- 
tory. But they possess none of the military fighting 
spirit of the plains tribes, nor the bold savagery of 
the Apaches, and to-day many white men live within 
their territory. Like all the desert Indians, the 
Seris are good runners. Having for countless gen- 
erations been accustomed to hardships, thirst, hun- 
ger, and heat, they possess a sinewy endurance 
which no white man, nor even a plains or woodland 
Indian, can hope to equal. But no Seri ever ran 
down a deer, unless the creature was sick or 
wounded, and the so-called ‘‘run’’ of these tribes 
is a dogtrot rather than a dash, the gait, in fact, best 
suited to covering long distances. 


CHAPTER XVIII 
INDIANS OF THE WESTERN PLATEAUS 


SIDE from the true plains Indians, there are a 
number of western tribes who inhabited the 
mountains and plateaus of the far west from Oregon 
and southeastern British Columbia to Arizona. For 
convenience, these have been divided into three 
groups, known as the Indians of the Northern 
Plateau, the Indians of the Interior Plateau, and 
the Indians of the Southern Plateau. The former 
includes those tribes whose homes were in Idaho, 
Montana, eastern Oregon and Washington, and 
southeastern British Columbia. Among them were 
the Shoshones and Bannocks of Shoshonean stock; 
the Nez Perces, Klikitats, Umatillas, Topinish, and 
Yakimas of Shahaptian stock; the Wascos of Chi- 
nook stock; and the Flatheads of Salishan ancestry, 
together with the Kutenay, who are regarded as a 
race by themselves.’ 


1 Of this group of Indians, the Flatheads are of particular interest, 
owing to their peculiar custom of artificially distorting the heads 
of their children. This is accomplished by means of a board ar- 
ranged to press upon the skull of the infant in such a way that the 
cranium becomes elongated and flattened, sloping directly from the 
eyebrows to the occiput. This custom of distorting children’s heads 
ia not, however, confined to the Flathead tribe. Many of the pre- 
historic tribes had similar practices, notably the Incas and pre- 
Incas, and among many existing South and Central American tribes 
the heads of the infants are molded to the Indian’s conception of 
beauty by ligatures, boards, wrappings, or by the mother’s hands. 

334 


j 
: 
| 
4 
: 


INDIANS OF WESTERN PLATEAUS 335 


Formerly, these Indians were more or less no- 
madic, their social organizations were rudimentary, 
and the chiefs had little power. But the introduc- 
tion of horses wrought great changes in life and 
customs, and in other ways. Through this easier 
form of travel and transportation, the Northern 
Plateau tribes came into contact with the plains and 
other Indians, and adopted many of their neighbors’ 
ways. ‘To-day we find strong plains Indian influ- 
ence in many of the customs, and more particularly 
the styles of dress, of the plateau tribes. 

For food, these tribes, except the Shoshones, de- 
pended mainly upon salmon, which were eaten fresh 
and were also dried and pounded to a sort of meal 
which could be kept for a long period of time. No 
agriculture was carried on, though many wild veg- 
etable foodstuffs were used, and deer and other 
game were hunted. Some of the tribes, however, 
dwelt in districts where there were neither salmon, 
large game, nor abundant vegetable products, and 
these were grateful for grasshoppers, rats, small 
mammals, lizards, and grass seeds. Grasshoppers, 
in fact, are not unpalatable when prepared in In- 
dian fashion—dried, pulverized, and made into a 
sort of bread. And I can testify from personal ex- 
perience that fat, juicy caterpillars, fried to a crisp 
brown in boiling grease, are the equals of any soft- 
shelled crabs. 

Salmon and other fish were caught by these In- 
dians by means of dip nets, seines, weirs, traps, 
hook and line, and by spearing. For hunting, the 
bow and arrows were the favorite weapons. The 


336 THE AMERICAN INDIAN | 


bows were made of horn or wood aseed with © 
sinews. With the arrows, they were kept in com- 


bined bow cases and quivers, beautifully made and — 


elaborately decorated, the fur bow cases of the Nez 


Perces ranking among the handsomest articles of — 


Indian craftsmanship known. 


Before the use of horses, the hunters of these 
tribes were adepts at disguising themselves in skins © 
of wild animals, which permitted them to approach — 
within bow shot of their game. Traps and snares — 
were also widely used, and buffaloes and other ani- 
mals were often driven into pounds by large parties 
of Indians working together and surrounding the © 


' creatures. 


Some of these tribes possessed rather rude dug- © 


outs. Other tribes made curiously designed canoes 


of pine or birch bark with long, ramlike, projecting © 


ends. The Shoshones used reed rafts or balsas. 


Probably the best of the tribes in culture, intelli- — 
gence, and interest were the Nez Perces, who are 
also the best known, at least by name, to the general — 


public. Two forms of dwellings were used by these 


Indians, the most popular being a mat-covered — 
tepee, although the conical form was not always — 
used, and an A-tent type was common. These were © 


often large enough to accommodate several families, 


each with its separate quarters and household goods. © 


The other form of house, used where camps were 
more or less permanent, consisted of a circular ex- 


cavation or cellar covered with a low, domed roof 
of poles and earth. The entrance was through a 


hole in the center of the roof, and the occupants — 


INDIANS OF THE WEST 


1, Pima-Yuma-Seri Group 
2. Indians of Western Plateaus 


3. Indians of the Pacific Coast (with Klamath and Modoc) 
4. Indians of the Far Northwest 


337 


| 


338 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


descended and ascended by means of a ladder con- 
sisting of a notched Jog. 

In addition to these typical dwellings, a few tribes, 
such as the Shoshones and Bannocks, used the ordi- 
nary skin tepee of the plains, and in certain areas 
near the Columbia River, split-plank houses were 
used. 


The furnishings consisted of mats and skins for 


bedding, robes of twisted strips of rabbit skins, 
baskets and woven pouches, rawhide trunks and skin 
cases, beautifully carved bowls and spoons of wood 
and horn, and wooden mortars with stone pestles. 
Stone mortars were also used to some extent, and 
stone hammers were used to drive wedges of deer 
antlers into logs to split them. The Shoshones alone 
made pottery, the other tribes cooking their food 
in water-tight baskets by means of hot stones 
dropped into the liquid. 

Baby-carriers were in use, the cradle consisting 
of an elliptical-shaped board covered with deerskin 
which was loose on one side and thus formed a pouch 
for the infant. 

for smoking, the Nez Perces and some other tribes 
used pipes of two types, one the L-shaped plains 
form with a long, flat, wooden stem; the other with 
a short stem and a small stone bowl. 

Their religion, taking the Nez Perces as a type, 
consisted of a belief in a great many spirits of whom 
the sun was the chief. According to Indian belief, 
any one of these deities might become the guardian 
spirit of a person. The spirit’s favor being won 
through fasting and prayer, it would reveal its iden- 


INDIANS OF WESTERN PLATEAUS 339 


tity by a vision. Dreams, produced either by hard- 
ship, fasting, or even by revelry, were believed to be 
direct means of communicating with the spiritual 
world, and every possible dream had its interpreta- 
tion. Ceremonials and dances were innumerable, 
the most holy, or at least important, ceremony being 
that of the Guardian Spirit Dance in which only 
those persons honored by having guardian spirits 
could participate, and in which songs relating visions 
were chanted. 

All these tribes were fond of games and sports, 
and aside from those common to many Indian tribes, 
the Nez Perces had a peculiar game played with 
bone cylinders, one of which bore a distinguishing 
mark. These were shuffled and then held in the 
hands of one player in such a manner that the 
marked portion of the cylinder was concealed. The 
other players then bet on which was the marked 
bone, counters of sticks being used like chips in a 
poker game. 

In physical appearance these tribes varied con- 
siderably, but as a whole, they were light colored, 
pale yellow or coppery rather than brown, often 
olive, and had well-cut pleasing features, many of 
the girls being really handsome. In temperament 
they were not naturally savage, warlike, or hostile; 
and many possessed a nobility of character far 
greater than the white settlers, who treated these 
Indians with little or no consideration. 

One of the most disgraceful and uncalled-for epi- 
sodes of our long history of Indian troubles was the 
so-called Nez Perce War. Merely because these In- 


340 THE AMERICAN INDIAN. tts 


dians became tired of continual treaty violgtions : 
broken promises, and land stealing on the part. of 
the whites, and decided to trek into Canada and avoid 
further trouble, our government sent cavalry in 
pursuit of them, attacked them, shot them without 
mercy, and herded them back to a reservation. And 
this, despite the fact that the Nez Perces had always 
been friendly, and that, during the portion of their 
migration they accomplished before being sur- 
rounded by troops, they had killed no white person, 
had committed no acts of violence, and had not 
taken a scalp. 

In their costumes these Indians have adopted the 
dress of the plains tribes, although originally the 
men wore only a breechcloth and moccasins, with a 
robe in winter, while the women contented them- 
selves with a short waist cloth or apron and a win- 
ter robe. Since the acquisition of horses, the cos- 
tume has become elaborate and picturesque. The 
men’s costume consists of a shirt or tunic, breech- 
cloth, leggings, and moccasins, and duae cere- 
meee or when entitled to it, the war bonnet. At 
other times, feather crnarierne are worn at the back 
of the head. Sometimes a high, fur cap or hat is 
worn which resembles the well-known Cossack head- 
gear, and which is often equipped with the horns of 
antelope, deer, buffalo, or other animals, with 
feather plumes, or with animal heads and tails. The 
costume of the women consists of a long gown and 
short leggings and moccasins. Although the typical 
moccasin of these tribes is a soft-soled form with a 
high top and a single seam along one side of the 


NVWOAA INODZ 


worunpunoy alia 


‘upipuy UD 


awauUp ey? fo wnasnj 


7-9 ee ee 


(pileyoig *O ‘uA, Aq Jepow wo.) 
GQONVG NIVY ONIMOHY “ADVITIA INDZ 


uouopunog afar 


‘UDIPUT UNALIWP 


ay} 


{o wnasnTy 


‘INDIANS OF WESTERN PLATEAUS 341 


foot, the hard-soled plains moccasins are also used. 

All of these garments are decorated with fringes, 
beadwork, quillwork, and elks’ teeth, and while not 
as elaborate nor as colorful as those of the plains 
tribes, they have a distinctive character and beauty 
of their own. 

In their arts, these tribes show great skill in 
basketry, in their beautifully woven bags and 
pouches, and in their ornately carved wooden and 
horn utensils. In their decorations, in carving, bas- 
ketwork, and beadwork, geometric and angular 
figures prevail; but these are combined most artisti- 
cally with elaborate floral designs, probably bor- 
rowed from the Crees. 

Adjacent to the territory occupied by the fore- 
going tribes are a few tribes who cannot well be 
included in any of the other plateau groups. Such 
are the Klamaths and Modocs who dwelt about the 
California-Oregon border. The latter are known to 
the public chiefly by reason of the so-called Modoc 
War of 1872-73 which, like the Nez Perce campaign, 
was brought about by the Modocs’ desire to live on 
their ancestral land in their own tribal manner. The 
Klamaths, on the other hand, have always been at 
peace with the whites, and hence are almost unknown 
to the average person. Both tribes are now mainly 
in Oregon, the Modocs who were exiled to Oklahoma 
having either died or returned to their old homes. 

Although not truly nomadic, neither were these 
tribes true village Indians. There were more or 
less permanent settlements of houses constructed of 
wooden slabs, but these were usually deserted dur- 


342 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


ing the summertime, sometimes for a few days, but — 
often for the entire summer. Temporary camps 
were made wherever game or fish were abundant, 
these summer houses being rude shelters of brush or 
willow. In addition to hunting and fishing, on which 
these tribes really depended, these Indians gathered 
fruits, roots, berries, nuts, and particularly the seeds 
of oda EKen 

Their most noteworthy art was basketry ; but bead- 
work, skin dressing, and similar industries were well 
developed. Their bows were large and powerful and’ 
were of peculiar design, being extremely broad be- 
tween the tapered ends and the slender middle or 
hand grip, thus having a double, spear-head shape. 
They were, in fact, very similar to the bows of the 
tribes of the Pacific coast, and like these, were 
usually gayly painted in geometrical designs. Bows 
and arrows were kept in cases of skin, often highly 
decorated and fringed. | 

Basketwork hats were made and worn and for 
ceremonial occasions and when on the warpath, 
elaborate headdresses were used. For dance pur-. 
poses these often combined headdress and mask in 
one piece. One form of these is made of the thin 
skin of a pelican’s pouch, another from porcupine 
skins and feathers. Other forms of headdresses 
were of woven bark fiber with a single feather plume 
in front and feather bobs at the back. Hair orna- 
ments were made of feathers, horsehair, and shells. 
Close-fitting caps completely covered with shell 
decorations were used by the Klamaths. | { 

Among other weapons, these Indians used im- 


INDIANS OF WESTERN PLATEAUS 343 


mense dagger- or sword-like knives, often with most 
elaborate cross hilts resembling in miniature the 
ancient two-handed broadswords of the Middle Ages. 

These were carried in beautifully made buckskin or 
elkskin sheaths decorated with long, voluminous 
fringes, and highly ornamented with magnificent 
beadwork in bold geometrical designs. 

For crossing streams and lakes, these Indians used 
reed balsas, the Klamath form being of unusual 
shape with a sharply upturned, square-ended prow. 

Although they possessed many interesting ab- 
original arts, and dressed in typical and _ pictur- 
esque costumes of skin, heavily fringed and won- 
derfully beaded, yet these Indians were very quick 
to adopt the white man’s garments and ways, and 
even before the so-called Modoc War, they had lost 
most of their ancestral customs and dress. 

Far removed from these tribes of the Northern 
Plateau, are the Indians of the Southern Plateau in 
Arizona, western Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. Al- 
though these tribes are racially close relatives of 
those in the north, belonging to the Shoshonean 
linguistic stock, yet they are very distinct from the 
Northern Plateau tribes. A number of separate 
tribes occupy this region, but as a rule they are 
much alike, and are usually considered under the 
general term of Utes and Piutes. 

. Originally these Indians lived in a most primitive 
and simple manner; but as has so often been the case, 
the coming of the horse, the consequent intercourse 
with other tribes, and the influence of the plains In- 


344 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


dians, have greatly changed the life, customs, arts, 


and other characters of these Indians. The Utes and - 


Piutes have not, however, been as greatly altered as 
many tribes, and their social organizations and re- 
ligious rites have remained almost unchanged. 

For subsistence these Indians depended mainly 
upon fish, roots, pifion nuts, and small game. There 
was no agriculture, and very little hunting of big 
game, although the more easterly Utes hunted the 
buffalo in the manner of the plains tribes, and in 
other localities, deer were killed by bows and arrows. 
In most districts, and especially in the Piute terri- 
tory, there was little in the way of game, aside from 
rabbits and small creatures such as gophers, and for 
meat the Indians were obliged to rely upon snakes, 
insects and a few fish. Grass seeds, roots, berries, 
etc., formed the greater part of the Indians’ diet, 
and so much of their time was devoted to grubbing 
for roots that the Piutes have become popularly 
known as ‘‘Digger Indians.’ 

Long after other tribes had adopted metal tools, 
implements, and weapons, these Indians continued 
to use stone knives, arrowheads, etc., some of which 
are still in use. Probably this was due more to the 
poverty of these Indians than to lack of intelligence 
or desire, for many of the bands were ever on the 
verge of starvation and lived in the most abject 
poverty and squalor. Moreover, they made little or 
nothing which they could exchange with the other 
tribes or with the whites. 

In hunting, the Utes used bows and arrows copied 
after those of the plains tribes. There were no 


Se RP oa 


a i —— 


INDIANS OF WESTERN PLATEAUS 345 


canoes, although the Utes used crude balsas or reed 
rafts for crossing streams. Snowshoes were used 
which were distinct from any others and were the 
crudest of all Indian snowshoes. | 
Burden baskets of conical form were made, as well 
as basketry fans and beaters used for gathering and 
winnowing grass seeds. Many of their finer baskets 
are excellently and artistically made and decorated, 
and graceful, bottle-shaped basketry water jars were 
made which were coated with pitch inside and out. 
Bowls of turtle shells were also used, and some of 
the tribes made rude pottery vessels, patterning 
them after the conical burden baskets. 
Baby-carriers were also in use, the Piute form con- 
sisting of an oval wickerwork frame covered with 
deerskin which formed a pouch on one side. In this, 
a slit was made in which the child was inserted, after 
which the opening was closed with thong lacings, 
leaving an aperture at the top for the infant’s head. 
Over this was a protective wicker-work hood or sun- 
shade. The Ute cradle was similar, but instead of 
the wicker frame, a board was used. 
The original form of house, or rather hut, used 
by all these Indians was a rude, roughly dome- 
shaped, almost roofless affair of brush—little more 
than a windbreak—and commonly known to the 
whites as a ‘‘wickyup.’’ In cold weather the hut was 
commonly covered with skins. At the present time 
most of the Piutes, as well as the Utes, live in mod- 
ern houses, although many still adhere to their 
wickyups. Long before the Indians learned to build 
real houses, the Utes had practically abandoned the 


346 ##THE AMERICAN INDIAN ~ 


wickyup and had adopted the skin tepee of the e plain ’ 
Indians, as a winter dwelling. | 

In their religion, these Indians differed little from { 
their neighbors. They believed in a supreme being ~ 
who lived in the sun, or was represented by the sun, — 
and in many minor deities. Medicine and sacred ~ 
bundles were few, but personal charms and talis- 
mans were numerous. These consisted of small bags 
containing portions of birds and animals, curiously. 
shaped pebbles, and other objects which symbolized 
the ‘‘dream helper’’ seen in visions. 

Among their games, these tribes had the stick dice, 

dice made of wood or walnut shells shaken in a 
basket; the hand game played with bone cylinders; 
a form of hoop-and-pole game; several forms of cup 
and pin; the double-ball game of the women; foot- 
ball; and shinny. In addition, they had a distinctive 
game played with four sticks, two large and two 
small, and a basket. One player arranged the sticks 
under the upturned basket, and the others bet upon 
the relative position of the sticks. | 

Although these Indians originally went naked or 
practically nude, yet they used neatly made, fringed 
leather garments at times, as shown in old prints 
and descriptions. These costumes consisted of 
shirts and leggings for the men, as well as moccasins 
and simple feather headdresses; and gowns and 
moccasins for the women. At first glance the later 
costumes of these tribes, but particularly of the 
Utes, appear to be copied bodily from the dress of 
the plains Indians. But closer inspection shows that 
while the general style is the same there are several 


«UB omvy,, “eds, euueday,) «UNG SUIz}Ig,, “eddy, xnorg 
SNVIGN] SNIVIG 


ToTEM PoLr, TLINGIT INDIANS, Houses AND TOTEM POLES, 
ALASKA TLINGIT INDIANS, ALASKA 


HEADDRESSES, HaipA INDIANS, ALASKA 
Pipe, HAIDA INDIANS, ALASKA 


INDIANS OF WESTERN PLATEAUS 347 


differences. The fringes, especially on the men’s 
leggings, are much longer, the fringes on all the 
garments are finer and more voluminous, and the 
beadwork ornamentation is different from that of 
any of the plains tribes. | 

Considering their primitive, not to say degenerate, 
state in many ways, it is rather surprising to find 
these Indians possessing artistic taste and great 
skill in decorative work. The beadwork of the Utes 
shows many angular designs somewhat similar to 
those of the plains Indians, but differing from these 
in the preponderance of large masses and units of 
solid colors or white. Floral and curved patterns 
also abound. The technique employed varies with 
the pattern being produced. On the straight work, 
the loop stitch is used, whereas in the curved or floral 
designs, flat, smooth beadwork is used. The latter 
stitch and the floral patterns are more abundant 
among the Piutes than the Utes, and the Piute woven 
beadwork bands, fillets, belts, etc., are excellently 
made. 

Last of the plateau tribes are those occupying the 
interior plateaus of portions of Oregon, Idaho, and 
British Columbia. They are very different in cul- 
tures from any of the tribes hitherto described. 

In some respects, especially in physical charac- 
teristics and mode of life, these Indians resemble the 
plains tribes more than the peoples of the other pla- 
-teaus. They are a nomadic race and have, since the 
earliest introduction of horses, depended upon these 
animals, thus being strictly horse Indians. 

Two linguistic stocks are represented among these 


348 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


tribes, the Indians about Yakima, Washington, and — 
Warm Springs, Oregon, being of Shahaptian stock — 
while those of the Fraser River district speak a 
Salish dialect. q 

Unlike other horse Indians, who depend almost — 
exclusively on hunting for a livelihood, or who culti- © 
vate small patches of land, these tribes of the In- © 
terior Plateau combine the hunting, horseback life 
with the primitive industry of digging edible roots — 
and tubers. } 

Their principal art is making basketry, which is © 
of a durable, coiled weave well adapted to the knocks ~ 
and rough treatment on horseback. Many of their — 
baskets are quite highly ornamented with imbricated — 
designs. Rawhide boxes and leather cases are also 
used, and these, as well as their bow cases and © 
quivers, are usually painted in the plains Indian © 
manner. ’ 

Their costumes are so similar to those of the plains — 
tribes that the differences can scarcely be described; — 
but as a rule, the clothing of these Indians is more © 


abundantly fringe trimmed and not so elaborately — 


beaded and decorated as the garments of the plains — 
Indians. : 

On the whole, however, these Indians have the q 
appearance, the customs, and the characteristics of — 
the neighboring plains tribes from whom, no doubt, — 


they have copied everything which served their pur- — 


pose and which proved to be adapted to their life — 
and environment. | 


CHAPTER XIX 
INDIANS OF THE PACIFIC COAST 


LL along the Pacific Coast of North America 
from Lower California to Alaska, and for some 
distance inland, especially along the rivers, were a 
great number of tribes representing many racial and 
linguistic stocks. In California, this was particularly 
the case, and in no other equal area of the surface 
of the globe were so many distinct dialects in use. 
In the southern portion of the state, the Spanish 
priests established numerous missions early in the 
eighteenth century; and, as a result, the tribes south 
of San Francisco long ago lost practically all of their 
aboriginal customs and mode of life and have been 
more or less civilized for two centuries. But many 
of the interior and northern tribes were unknown 
until the gold rush of 1849, and these still retain 
many of their ancestral ways and arts. 

Owing to the diversity of tongues, the innumerable 
variations in habits and other matters, and the in- 
fluences of other tribes and of the whites, it is often 
difficult to say exactly what were the original tribal 
characteristics and customs. Moreover, to at- 
tempt to describe or even to mention all of these 
tribes would be impossible in the present work. 


Hence they may best be cousidered as a whole, only 
349 


300 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


the most striking and typical examples of their cus- 


toms, arts, and life being mentioned. 


Due to the great variations in climate and environ- — 
ment, very great differences exist among these In- — 
dians. They may, therefore, be roughly divided into ~ 
the north, central, and southern Californian groups. ~ 
But even in one group or one tribe, wide variations — 
often occur, owing to the geographical position of — 


their territory. These variations are particularly 
noticeable in connection with the tribes dwelling in 
the rather arid and dry southern districts, and the 
forested northern areas which have a heavy rain- 
fall, and in the tribes inhabiting the coast, and those 
inland. ) 
But in two features at any rate, all were very 
much alike. None were nomadic, although moving 
about more or less within their own districts, and 


none were warlike or hostile. They seldom resented — 


the encroachment of the whites, but made the best 
of it, and found employment as farm hands, laborers, 
servants, herders, fishermen, sailors, etc. The peace- 
ful habits of these tribes, their dislike of any trouble, 
and the fact that they had learned to regard the 
white men as their friends, owing to the kindly treat- 
ment they had received at the hands of the padres 
and the easy-going Spanish landowners—all played 
an important part’in the extermination of thousands 
of these peaceful, industrious, and harmless Indians. 

Every one who has read Ramona is familiar with 
the conditions of the Indians in the old Spanish 
colonial days, and the treatment they received at the 


hands of our government, and from American set- — 


eg IN 2 ATOR kes Set SECC si eh ni ee ee aes el 


ns ee 


INDIANS OF THE PACIFIC COAST 351 


tlers in California. This story is scarcely if at all 
overdrawn. Indeed, the abuses related in Ramona 
are mild in comparison with many of those which 
prevailed during the early days of United States 
rule in California, and which continued until very 
recently. 

Among the Indians of the southern area, the 
houses were simple affairs of grass, tules, brush, or 
bark, occasionally earth covered; while in the north- 
ern and central areas the Indians used houses of 
planks split from cedar logs by means of deer or elk- 
horn wedges. These buildings were either rectangu- 
lar or circular, according to local or tribal custom, 
and usually had all or a part of the floor below the 
level of the ground. Openings or doorways were 
either in one side or in the roof. In the latter case, 
the occupants ascended or descended by means of a 
notched-log ladder which, when removed, made en- 
trance difficult for undesirable visitors. 

The household furnishings were simple, but ample 
for the needs and comfort of the Indians. A shallow 
hole sometimes surrounded with stones, in the center 
of the floor, served as a fireplace. About the walls 
was a raised platform of either earth or willow 
wands, which was covered with pine needles and soft 
tanned skins. It served as a lounging place during 
the day and as a bed at night. Oftentimes, a pole 
fastened a few inches above the platform served as 
a pillow for all the occupants of the house, while at 
other times, individual wooden pillows were made 
from sections of logs squared and slightly hollowed 
at one end. Mats of reeds and tules, robes woven 


352 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


of strips of rabbit or wild-cat skin, and bird skins — 
sewed together were used as blankets and cloaks. 
Around the walls of the houses were hung baskets 
in which food, domestic utensils, clothing, decora- ~ 
tions, ornaments, and other articles were stored, — 
while other baskets and cases were kept in the spaces 
under the beds. The household utensils consisted 
largely of baskets; but in addition there were wooden 
spoons, ladles, bowls, etc., in great variety, as well 
as stone mortars and dishes, and in the case of the 
more southerly tribes, pottery vessels of good qual- 
ity. In the northern districts, however, no pottery 
was made or used, the Indians weaving water-tight 
baskets which were used for holding liquids and for 
cooking, boiling being accomplished by dropping red- 
hot stones into the liquids. | 
Food was abundant and easily obtained, and 
varied greatly according to latitude and altitude. 
Roots, fruits, nuts, seeds, berries, and acorns com- 
prised the vegetable foods, while fish and game were 
an important part of the menu. | 
Bows and arrows of several forms were used in 
hunting, and traps, nets, hooks, and spears were 
employed in taking fish. The bows were unusual, ~ 
being extremely heavy, almost straight, and witha — 
§ 


“sec ele ee ies aoe aig 2a tc ii lana aac al 


narrow hand hold, thus giving the weapon a double, 
spearhead shape something like the Klamath bows 
already described. These were often handsomely 
painted, as were the rather short, well-made arrows. 
In warfare, these northern tribes used cuirasses or — 
armor, formed of tough sticks woven together with — 


INDIANS OF THE PACIFIC COAST 353 


bark or fiber, and these, no doubt, would prove fairly 
efficacious against arrows or other primitive 
weapons. 

Few canoes were used, these tribes preferring reed 
rafts or balsas, although some of the northern tribes 
used well-made dugouts. 

Smoking was common, the pipes used being 
tapered, cylindrical affairs, much like modern cigar 
holders, made of stone, bone, or wood, and often 
eight or ten inches in length, 

Games consisted mainly of gambling devices, and 
for money these tribes used the dentalium or tusk 
shells, obsidian knives, woodpecker scalps, and 
magnesite beads. The dentalium shells were strung 
on cords or on skin thongs, and were carried in 
‘‘banks’’ or purses formed from sections of horns, 
antlers, or bone beautifully carved and decorated, 
and with a slot in one side. The obsidian knives, 
often of immense size, were probably originally cere- 
monial, but latterly were merely currency, and were 
highly valued, while the largest magnesite beads had 
a trade value of as much as twenty dollars. | 

Probably, in the early days before the advent of 
Europeans, most of these Indians went naked or 
nearly so, but later they adopted skin and fiber 
garments. For generations, they have worn conven- 
tional clothing except for ceremonial purposes. In 
the south, aprons or skirts of shredded bark or nettle 
fiber were in vogue. These are quite decorative and 
are usually tastefully ornamented with feathers, but 
they are not as well made nor as attractive as those 
of the more northern tribes. The Tolowas and 


304 THE AMERICAN INDIAN | 


Karoks, for example, use aprons which are highly © 
ornamental, being made of beads or seeds on strings 
woven in attractive designs of soft shades of brown, 
and decorated with metal jinglers, bright feathers, 
and pieces of abalone shell. 

The northern tribes also used shirts and tunics, 
as well as skirts, of soft buckskin, colored in dull 
grays, greens, or browns. These were heavily 
fringed and ornately decorated with bits of haliotis 
shell, seeds, beads, feathers, silver coins, and disks; 
brass bells, jinglers, and sea shells; some of the gar- 
ments of the Tolowas being completely hidden under 
their masses of small clam shells, dentaliums, 
cypreas, etc. — | 

Sandals of agave and other fibers were worn by 
the southern tribes, the fiber being braided or twisted 
into rope which was coiled into the desired shape and 
sewed together. The northern and central tribes, 
however, wore moccasins of soft leather. These were 
of several styles, usually with the instep seam, and 
of one piece. The Yuroks used a peculiar moccasin 
with separate soft leather soles, and the uppers puck- 
ered to a seam on the instep. 

All the tribes made and used basket-work hats of 
bowl shape, those of the northern tribes being more 
ornate, and often decorated with feathers or pom- 
pons. For ceremonial purposes, these Indians used 
elaborate and frequently very beautiful headdresses 
of skin, feathers, shells, and quills. Some of these, 
made on a foundation of deerskin, were completely 
covered with an overlay of woodpecker scalps so ar- 
ranged as to form alternating bands of diamond pat- 


INDIANS OF THE PACIFIC COAST 355 


tern in scarlet, black, and white. Others used head- 
dresses of painted skin with no feathers; others 
combined embroidered skin caps with feather bobs 
and plumes; another form was of skin with a pendant 
skin back, painted and decorated with rows of 
feathers, and with feathers about the headband. 
Still other Indians used skin caps embroidered with 
shells and seeds. 

_A type of headdress used by the Pomos was com- 
posed entirely of the quills and tail feathers of the 
flicker, the quills being dyed and woven into a band 
which was decorated with the arrowhead-shaped tips 
of the woodpeckers’ tail feathers. 

Hair plumes were also worn. These were of many 
and often elaborate forms. Sometimes a long, black 
tail feather of the California condor would be used, 
with its midrib covered with patches of bright 
feathers laid on in contrasting colors, and with 
swan’s-down and other feathers at the base. Other 
forms consisted of long, curved, slender plumes 
wrapped with feathers of various colors and finished 
off with down at the base. Still another type was 
the pompon made up of numbers of soft, curving 
feathers, or of sticks covered with spirally wound 
feathers, and topped with waving plumes. 

Elaborate feather capes, collars, and necklaces 
were also worn, and very attractive and artistic orna- 
ments were made of dyed porcupine quills. As 
jewelry, these Indians used ear pendants, necklaces, 
collars, and other ornaments of seeds, beads, quill- 
work, feathers, and shells. One form of necklace 
used by the Yuroks consisted of pieces of the curved, 


356 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


thick rim of the abalone shell cut and strung to imi- | 


tate the claws of the grizzly bear. 


b, 


That their dances, ceremonies and religiaan rites — 


were numerous and involved, is known; but we have 


comparatively little information fodncbelinis their ex-— 
act religious beliefs, especially those of the southern ~ 


Californian tribes who have been Christianized, or 

at least influenced by Christianity, for centuries. 
Particularly noteworthy is the cremation or burial 

ceremony of the Dieguefios. At these ceremonies, 


death dolls have an important part. These are 


figures, often of nearly life size, dressed in Indian 
costume, with elaborate shoulder ornaments of 


feathers, equipped with bows and arrows or other © 


weapons or implements, and with the most ghastly, 


deathlike faces imaginable. 


The Dieguefios also are interesting for their 


feather dance, in which elaborate costumes are 


worn; for ‘ett peculiar games, such as the stick- 


and-ring game; for their bull roarers; and for their 
use of the globe-headed war club of eastern Indian 


type. 


In their beadwork, many of these Californian In- 


dians showed remarkable skill and artistic ability, 


much of their bead embroidery comparing favorably — 


with that of any tribe. Their carved spoons of horn 
and wood are also marvels of intricate and delicate 
carved work, while their basketry is famed. Many 


utensils, ordinarily made of wood, wicker, or other — 
materials, are made of basketry by these Indians. | 


Their baby-carriers are neat, comfortable affairs re- 


_ pattie S , 


INDIANS OF THE PACIFIC COAST 357 


sembling a true bassinet, and have a movable bas- 
ketry sunshade. 

The northern Californian Indians, in particular, 
were famous for their remarkably fine baskets, often 
of immense size, and so finely woven that they are 
water-tight and appear made of textiles. These are 
usually beautifully ornamented with an endless 
variety of angular and geometrical patterns in black, 
brown, and soft shades of red and ocher, while many 
have beads or feathers, or both, introduced in the 
weave. Oftentimes these completely cover the bas- 
ket, giving the utensils the appearance of being en- 
tirely composed of beadwork, of the scarlet wood- 
pecker feathers, or the iridescent feathers of hum- 
ming birds. The skill, patience, and eyesight re- 
quired to produce such baskets, and to weave in the 
thousands of minute bits of feathers, are nothing 
short of astounding. 

Northward from California to Puget Sound and 
beyond, were formerly many Indians representing 
nearly fifty tribes. Owing to long wars with the 
whites, the Northwest Fur Company’s operations, 
the lumbering and salmon industries, and other 
causes, the Oregon Indians have been greatly re- 
duced in numbers, and the surviving remnants of the 
tribes have lost practically all of their ancestral cus- 
toms, arts, and habits, so that little is really known 
regarding their aboriginal life. But north of the 
Columbia River are several tribes which have still 
adhered to their native ways. Among these are the 
Quinauilt, the Quileute, and the Makah—tribes 
which are often confused with the Northwest coast 


358 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


Indians owing to many similarities in customs and — 
other characters. 

About Puget Sound are several tribes ee names 
end in ish, and who are usually referred to by the 
whites as Siwash. In the Indians’ dialects, the 
terminal ish means people, and hence we find tribes 
with such names as Skokomish, Snohomish, Stilla- 
quamish, Samish, Salish; Swinomish, Suquamish, 
and Dwamish. 

Unlike most Indians, these northwestern coast 
tribes depend upon the sea for a living, and their 
chief industry is hunting whales. Armed with har- 
poons and lances of bone of primitive design, such 
Indians as the Makah and Quileutes go to sea in open 
canoes and boldly attack the largest of the world’s 
mammals. Very often, these venturesome whalemen 
go out of sight of land, guiding their craft solely by 
atmospheric conditions and the direction of the 
waves, and, having captured and killed the wales, 
tow he ies carcasses ashore. 

The canoes used by these people are the best-made 
and designed of any dugouts known, and are often of 
large size. Although rather grotesquely decorated 
and carved above the water line, yet their under- 
bodies are designed with a most intimate knowledge 
of the requirements of speed, buoyancy, and sea- 
worthiness. The lines of these craft combine the 
good features of the Gloucester fishermen’s dories 
and the New England whalemen’s famous whale- 
boats, and are fully the equals of either. 

Aside from whales, these tribes capture innumer- 
able fish by means of hook and line, spears, traps, 


INDIANS OF THE PACIFIC COAST 359 


weirs, seines, nets, etc., the lines and cordage used 
being formed from twisted cedar bark, or at times, 
even strips of kelp. 

Hunting was done with bows and arrows, the lat- 
ter being beautifully made with highly finished bone 
points. The bows of these Indians, especially of 
the Quinauilt and Quileute tribes, are remarkably 
powerful and heavy, being of the narrow-center, 
broad-ended type so prevalent in the Northwest, but 
having sharply recurved ends, and unusual length. 

For vegetable food, these tribes depended upon 
fruits, berries, roots, and seeds, the berries being 
dried for winter consumption or pressed into cakes. 
For cooking, and as utensils for eating, these tribes 
used baskets, wooden and horn spoons, often beau- 
tifully carved, wooden bowls, etc. : 

Their houses were of three types. One had a gable 
roof sloping both ways; another had a shedlike roof 
with a single slope; while the third form had a nearly 
flat roof in the center with steeply sloping ends and 
sides. All these houses were constructed of cedar 
planks, split from logs with antler wedges, and sup- 
ported by massive timbers hewn by hand. Often, 
these houses were communal and of huge size. One 
that until recently stood near Seattle was over five 
hundred feet in length, and even larger dwellings 
have been known. 

Although the majority of these Indians now dress 
in conventional clothing, or in costumes made of 
trade cloth, a few still adhere to their ancestral cos- 
tumes, and these are invariably donned for cere- 
monials. The shirts or tunics, as well as the aprons 


360 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


or breechcloths, are made of leather, heavily fringed, — 
of woven wool, nettle fiber, or bark, and are usually — 
elaborately decorated with beads, shells, metal 
trinkets, seeds, and feathers. The moccasins are of 
the soft, one-piece type; but those of the Shahaptian 
of Oregon are peculiar in having the single seam 
along one side of the foot instead of on the instep. 
These are usually beautifully decorated with bead- 
work in floral designs of a truly futuristic style. For 
headdresses, these Indians used several forms of 
skin and feather construction. The Shahaptian 
headdress was formed of a horn ring covered with 
hide, and decorated with numerous tufts of hair, and 
at various points, bundles or bobs of feathers were 
attached. Several tribes, such as the Quileute, wore 
shoulder rings of feathers and bark strips. In some 
ceremonials immense wooden masks were used, such 
as the massive wolf masks of the Makahs. 

In the religious Spirit Canoe ceremony of the 
Salish and Snoqualmu, the shamans used strangely 
carved staffs representing grotesque human figures, 
and oddly shaped, highly painted boards or Spirit 
Canoes. On these, the medicine men were supposed 
to visit the deities, who would then reveal much 
knowledge and render tremendous spiritual aid to 
the Indians. ) 

Smoking was an important part of some cere- 
monies, and many of these Indians’ pipes are most 


1In the spirit-canoe ceremony, the shamans are supposed to visit 
the underworld in order to regain the spirits or souls of their 
patients. The spirit-canoes are roughly shaped to symbolize the 
sea-lion, a creature believed to be in communication with the 


spirit world. 


INDIANS OF THE PACIFIC COAST 361 


elaborately made and carved and are frequently 
beautifully inlaid with abalone shell. 

Although greatly influenced in many ways by the 
whites, yet these tribes are most conservative in 
other ways, especially in regard to their tools. Al- 
though they gladly use steel blades, yet they in- 
variably mount these in wooden or bone handles 
made according to their own ideas. Some of these, 
such as the adzes and axes of the Salish, are roughly 
made and rather crude, while other tribes, such as 
the Quileutes, mount the steel implements in beau- 
tifully carved handles of bone, and show great in- 
genuity in their design. Bone awls and needles are 
still extensively used, and elk- and deer-antler 
wedges are still employed for splitting logs into 
planks. 

Unlike the majority of western coast tribes, these 
Indians use wooden baby-carriers of unique form, 
those of the Shahaptians being spear-head-shaped 
affairs provided with perforations around the edges. 
To this the infant, bundled in moss and fur robes, is 
lashed by a thong lacing. 

Basketry is the principal art of these tribes, al- 
though they are excellent at beadwork. In the past 
at least, many wove very admirable textiles from 
nettle fiber, shredded bark, mountain-goat and sheep 
wool, and dogs’ hair. The last are particularly in- 
teresting, as the Salish tribes bred and raised a 
special variety of dog solely for its hair to be used in 
weaving their blankets. 

Still farther north, and occupying the territory 
along the upper portions of the Stikine, Tuya, and 


362 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


Tahltan rivers in British Columbia, about 150 miles — 
east of Sitka, are the Tahltan Indians. These form 
a separate group, being of Athabascan stock, and 
differing markedly from the other Indians of the — 


Northwest. 


Sl i A ae 


Being mainly hunters and fishermen, these Indians © 
are seminomadic, and are on friendly terms with the — 
Tlingits of the coast, with whom they carry on a — 
rather extensive trade. As this has been going on 


from time immemorial, many of the Tahltan arts, 


customs, and other characters show a decided coast- | 
tribe influence, while many of the features of the 
coastal laaiane have been greatly influenced by the | 


interior Tahltans. 


As a result, the two tribes have become more or 


less alike in a number of ways, especially in the 


types of their pipes, their huge war knives or dag- — 
gers, their gambling devices, their carvings, and | 
their abalone inlay-work. In fact, many of these, — 
especially the double-edged knives with carved bone 
handles inlaid with shell; and the elaborately carved | 
pipes with shell inlay, are probably of true Tlingit 
origin. Even in many of their rites and religious | 
ceremonies, these Indians show the influence of their — 
coastal neighbors, although they still retain a number — 
of typically Athabascan ceremonies and dances, such : 


as the puberty ceremony. 


The Tahltans show the Aunenicall type of art in — 
their dress and beadwork. The latter, which is ex- | 
tensively used for decorating the soft-tanned-skin — 


knife sheaths, pouches, bags, and other articles, is — 
usually in a pleasing combination of geometrical — 


3 
7 
Si 


INDIANS OF THE PACIFIC COAST 363 


and floral designs very carefully and accurately 
worked. Similar designs are used in decorating 
bonework, such as knife handles, skin-dressing tools, 
spreaders for burden straps, gaming sticks, etc. 
These are incised or scratched on the bones and are 
then filled with pigment like the old-time scrimshaw 
_work of the New England whalemen. 

As household utensils, the Tahltans have very lit- 
tle, as is usually the case with nomadic people. 
Kettles and containers of birch bark; bags of tanned 
skin, or of netting; stone and bone tools and imple- 
ments; and spoons of mountain-sheep horn, bone, 
and wood comprised most of the articles of tribal 
make. But by far the greater portion of their tools 
and utensils are obtained by trade from the Tlingits. 

The typical Tahltan dwelling originally consisted 
of a crude lean-to of poles and spruce bark, two lean- 
tos as a rule being erected face to face with a narrow 
opening between the two. During the summer, this 
space was left open; but in winter one end was walled 
up and a fire was kept burning between the two 
huts. 

The aboriginal costume was of tanned skins, 
fringed and beaded, and patterned very much after 
the style of the western Crees. Caribou, moose, 
bear, and sheep skins served as bedding and robes; 
and winter garments were made of rabbit, fox, squir- 
rel, marmot, lynx, etc. 

Snares, deadfalls, and several other ingenious 
traps were used to secure game, and especially fur- 
bearing animals; but the bow and arrow was also 


364 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


widely used. Hunting was, and still is, carried on 
mainly during the winter. In spring these Indians 
devote themselves to catching salmon, which are 
dried for future use, and in summer little work is 4 
done, save that essential to existence. | 


CHAPTER XX 
INDIANS OF THE FAR NORTHWEST 


IFFERING in nearly every way from all other 
Indians of North America are the tribes inhab- 
iting the coasts and islands of southern Alaska and 
northern British Columbia. Here, isolated from con- 
tact with nearly all other tribes, and forced by their 
environment to adapt themselves to conditions un- 
known to the Indians of the interior or of the Cali- 
fornian coast, these tribes have developed customs, 
arts, industries, religions, and modes of life quite 
distinct from those of even their nearest neighbors. 
Of all North American tribes, they are probably 
the most Asiatic in appearance, and as far as 
physical characteristics go, they can scarcely be 
distinguished from the inhabitants of northeastern 
Asia. If we accept the theory of an early migration 
of man from Asia across to Alaska, then, most as- 
suredly, these far northwestern tribes have retained . 
the characters of their ancestors more obviously than 
any other American aborigines. 

Particularly noteworthy, and at once serving to 
distinguish these Indians from all others, are their 
large, elaborate dwellings built of planks and with 
grotesquely carved and painted fronts; their re- 


markable, immense, carved totem poles, sometimes 
365 


366 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


sixty feet in height; their complex and involved cere- — 
monials in which weird, gigantic masks are worn, — 
the dancers impersonating heraldic animals, mon- © 
sters, and mythical beings; the extensive use of cedar — 
bark for clothing; the innumerable articles of wood- — 
work; and the type of decorations in which the totem — 


or heraldic creatures and personages are portrayed. — 


Moreover, they are linguistically distinct from other 1 
North American tribes, although among them many ~ 
related tribes, as well as several apparent racial 
stocks, occur. ; 
Prominent among these Indians are the Tlingit, 


who inhabit southern Alaska between Controller Bay — 


and Portland Canal; the Haida, of Queen Charlotte — 
Islands and Prince of Wales Island; the Tsimshian, — 
living on the Nass and Skeena rivers and neighbor- — 
ing islands; the Kitksan, of the upper waters of the ~ 
Skeena River; the Niska, of Nass River and Ob- — 
servatory Bay; the Kwakiutl, whose territory lies — 
between Rivers Inlet and Cape Mudge, and who also 
live on the northeastern end of Vancouver Island; — 
and the Nootka of western Vancouver. : 
Living as they do by the ocean, and depending 
almost entirely upon sea food, all of these tribes © 
have become experts in canoe-building and in navi- — 
gating their craft. With abundant material in the — 
forests, these Indians have learned to work the na- — 
tive cedar and other woods in a manner unequaled 
by any other Indians, and their remarkably buoyant, 
swift, and seaworthy dugouts are marvels of aborigi- — 


nal boat-building. Some of these craft are of im- — 


mense size, sixty to seventy feet in length, and are — 


INDIANS OF THE FAR NORTHWEST 367 


carved and hollowed from a single log with the ex- 
ception of long, necklike bow and stern pieces of 
ornamental design which are made separately. 

These canoes serve for traveling from place to 
place, as war canoes, and for capturing the various 
denizens of the sea upon which these Indians rely for 
food, weapons, utensils, and many other purposes. 
Fish, sea lions, sea otters, and seals are all 
taken by these tribes, while those of Vancouver Is- 
land make a specialty of whaling. For the larger 
creatures, harpoons are used, while fish and smaller 
sea animals are taken by nets, weirs, traps, hooks 
and lines, and spears. 

Some hunting on land is also done, the Indians 
formerly using bows and arrows, although to-day 
firearms are in universal use. Considerable vege- 
table food is used, such as roots, tubers, seeds, nuts, 
and berries, the last being dried and pressed into 
cakes for winter consumption. 

In their social organization, these tribes were 
unique. There was a well established caste system, 
consisting of chiefs, commoners, and slaves. The 
latter were prisoners, captured in battles or in raids 
on other tribes, and as a rule they were treated with 
kindness and consideration, and aside from certain 
restrictions were, to all intents and purposes, mem- 
bers of the tribe. Although they could marry, and 
were more or less free in many ways, and were 
employed at various tasks, such as canoe-building, 
fishing, hunting, and warfare, yet they were rigidly 
excluded from all ceremonies, religious rites, coun- 


368 THE AMERICAN INDIAN © 


cils, etc. To the commoner caste belonged all legiti- 
mate members of the tribe, except those of royal — 
blood and medicine men, who were all in the chief 
caste. ; 
Much of the time of these Indians was devoted to 
making woodwork and cedar bark cloth. Having no 
knowledge of pottery-making, these tribes used ves- 
sels and utensils of wood, in which food was boiled © 
by the hot-stone method. Very often these wooden ~ 
kettles were of large size, and not infrequently a 
canoe was pressed into service and was used as a 
cauldron for trying-out oil from fish refuse which, 
during the fish-drying season, accumulated in vast — 
quantities. ) 

Not only were wooden utensils formed by hollow- 
ing out sections of logs, but many were of two or 
more pieces cunningly fitted together to form rec- 
tangular or square vessels. In making these, a thin 
slab of wood was bent in rectangular form by means 
of steaming, V-shaped cuts having been made where 
the corner angles were to come. The ends were al- 
most invisibly joined by sewing with roots of spruce. 
To this frame was fitted a wooden bottom cut to size 
and joined to the bent side piece with a step joint, 
and sewed on with spruce-root strips. 

Special utensils were made for ceremonial pur- 
poses, and canoe-shaped, dugout troughs or 
trenchers were used for feasts and dance purposes. — 
Nearly all of these utensils, as well as the smaller 
wooden bowls, dishes, spoons, etc., and the spoons 
of mountain-sheep and goat horn were elaborately — 
carved in more or less conventionalized bird and — 


INDIANS OF THE FAR NORTHWEST 369 


animal or human forms, often decorated with paint 
and haliotis-shell inlays. 

Cedar bark is also a most important article to 
these tribes. From this, these Indians make both 
cloth and baskets, many of the latter being of finely 
twined weave and artistically decorated in conven- 
tionalized animal designs of harmonious blended 
colors. For making cloth, the bark is beaten and 
shredded into fine, soft fibers which are twisted into 
threads and woven into durable cloth without the 
aid of loom, batten, or shuttle. Another form of tex- 
tile, which is most remarkable, is the Chilkat blanket 
with a cedar-bark warp wrapped with mountain-goat 
hair, the weft strands being of wool alone. In weav- 
ing these remarkable fabrics, the warp strands are 
suspended over a stick supported by two forked 
posts, and the weft strands are pushed into place by 
the weaver’s fingers, the upper or top strands being 
woven in place first and the weaving proceeding 
downward. This is the reverse of other aboriginal 
methods of weaving. 

These blankets are not only exceedingly fine, being 
excelled only by the work of the Peruvian Indians, 
but in addition they are ornately woven in intricate 
designs representing totem animals, mythical per- 
sonages, monsters, and similar forms, often conven- 
tionalized, usually dissected and with their various 
fragments separated, and always most ingeniously 
handled in such a way as to adapt them to the weave. 

Mats of cedar-bark ribbons were extensively used, 


and this useful material also provided excellent 


al eel 


cordage, mattresses, and bedding, padding for the 


370 THE AMERICAN INDIAN — 


babies’ cradles, and fringes and other decorations — 
for costumes and ceremonial objects. | 

In the erection of their houses, these Indianhe also 
exhibit great mechanical and architectural skill. 
These are often over fifty feet in length and have 
high walls and a flat gable roof. The roof and sides 
are of large cedar planks hewn to uniform thickness 
by primitive adzes, and are fastened to a substantial 
frame of timbers. The roof support is composed of 
two logs, often two feet or more in diameter, and 
placed about ten feet apart, lengthwise of the rec- 
tangular house. Hach of these is supported by verti- 
cal posts of large size, notched at the upper ends to 
receive the roof timbers, and usually carved to repre- 
sent some guardian spirit or totem creature. Smaller 
timbers are laid from the central roof timbers to the 
sides of the house, and all are securely fastened in 
place. 

The manner in which these Indians erect the 
massive timbers, and the still more massive and 
elaborately carved totem poles which stand in front — 
of the houses, has often puzzled many persons. At — 
the Chicago World’s Fair in 1892, several totem poles 
and a house of these Indians were erected on the 
exposition grounds. To raise the immense carved 
posts in the limited area provided, proved a puzzle 
to the white artisans; but it was quickly and easily 
accomplished by the Indians, who built a rough and 
ready cribwork of timbers and literally raised the | 
wooden columns by foot. Using their own weight | 
upon one end of a timber to raise the other end like © 
a lever, they worked so rapidly and in such perfect | 


Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation 


MASK, KWAKIuTL INDIANS, VANCOUVER 
GIANT MASKS, KWAKIUTL 


Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation 
WoovEN Box, Hama WoopvEN Box, TLINGIT 
WoopEN TRAYS, HAIDA Horn Spoons, HAIDA 


BLANKET OF GOAT HAIR AND CEDAR BARK, CHILKAT 


INDIANS OF THE FAR NORTHWEST 371 


unison that the totem poles were in place much more 
quickly than could have been done by means of der- 
ricks, shears, or other mechanical devices. 

When the houses are completed, the fronts are 
usually decorated with mythological paintings in 
bold designs, and very often the interior rear wall is 
similarly embellished. Around the walls, inside the 
house, a raised platform is built to serve as sleeping 
quarters for the several families who occupy the 
dwelling. There are separate fireplaces for each 
family. In many places the benchlike bunks are 
partitioned off by means of cedar-bark matting, thus 
converting the building into a primitive apartment 
house. 

Outside the door, and usually close to the house, 
were placed the totem poles. Occasionally these were 
erected against the front of the dwelling with an 
opening through the base of the pole serving as a 
doorway to the house. These monolithic wooden 
columns, with their wonderfully carved, grotesque 
figures, correspond to coats of arms. The various 
creatures and beings represented in the carving are 
the clan or family totems, or crests of the ancestors 
of the family occupying the house to which the poles 

belong. In addition to the totem figures, these carv- 

ings frequently embody members of the family who 
were prominent in the family traditions, so that the 
totem pole is literally a family tree. 

Although many articles of wearing apparel were 
made of bark or of bark cloth, woven wool, or woven 
dog hair, yet deerskins were also extensively used. 
The principal article of apparel worn by the men 


Ale 
oa 


372 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


was a shirt or a kilt of skin, and In some cases leg- 
gings; and the women’s essential garment was a 
skirt. Over these were worn robes or blankets of 
dressed furs, woven wool, etc. Hlaborate head- 
dresses of shells were also worn. Nowadays, many 
of these Indians wear conventional dress, while 
others make their own garments of trade cloth, deco- 
rating them in tribal style. Especially interesting 
are the decorative designs carried out on trade 1 
blankets and cloth by means of pearl buttons and 
ribbon or cloth appliqué, many of these being so 
elaborate that they would make a London coster turn 
green with envy. . 

For personal adornment these Indians used ear 
and nose ornaments of bone, ivory, metal, and 
haliotis shell. Among the women of the more north- 
erly tribes, lip ornaments or labrets were fashion- 
able. These were of small size when first inserted 
in the aperture in the lower lip, but were gradually 
increased in size from time to time, until ultimately, 
the lip became merely a thin strip of tissue sur- 
rounding the enormous ornament, very much after 
the fashion of many African tribes, as well as the 
Botacudo Indians of Brazil (Chapter XXII). Al- 
though to us these immense labrets are horrible and 
disfiguring, yet to the minds of the people who use 
them they are beautifying. Among the women of the : 
Haidas, Tlingits, Tsimshians, and others of ‘the | 
worthwest coast, the labret was a mark of distinction 
and a woman’s social position was more or less estab- x 
lished by the size of her lip ornament. oe e 

Most of the games of these Indians were gambling = + 


INDIANS OF THE FAR NORTHWEST 373 


devices, the commonest forms consisting of cylin- 
drical sticks, often as many as seventy in a set, made 
of ivory and often handsomely carved and inlaid 
with haliotis shell. These were used much as we use 
dice or cards, and sometimes a man would lose every- 
thing he possessed in playing such games. 

For smoking, these tribes used pipes of innumer- 
able and remarkable forms. Wood was the material 
most used for pipes, yet stone, bone, and ivory were 
also employed. The Haidas made pipes of slate 
which were marvelously carved. In the case of 
wooden pipes, the bowls were usually lined with 
metal, such as bits of tin cans, brass ferrules, or 
empty cartridge shells. 

In almost every case, regardless of the material 
of which they were made, the pipes were elaborately 
earved in the forms of mythical beings, prominent 
personages in the maker’s family, heraldic or totem 
emblems, or combinations of all. Very often, too, 
the pipes were further ornamented with haliotis-shell 
inlays. Among all these tribes the haliotis or 
abalone shell was highly prized and was obtained by 


trade with the Californian Indians. 


Originally, the far northwestern Indians were very 
warlike, and made raids on one another and on 
neighboring tribes, often traveling long distances in 


their huge canoes, and in their forays resembled the 


Vikings of old. For protection they wore armor 
made of hardened and shrunken hides or of tough 
wooden strips bound together with cord, and helmets 
and neckpieces of wood, elaborately carved to repre- 
sent family crests or totems. As weapons, they used 


374 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


bows and arrows, war clubs, and immense doub e- 
edged knives, as well as swords of bone.’ 

The clubs were of various forms and were of wood, 
bone, or antler, while the war knives or daggers were 
most remarkable. Originally, these were made of 
native copper, hammered and ground into shape; 
but with the arrival of white men this metal was 
discarded in favor of steel. Securing old files by 
trade with the whites, these Indians softened, cut, 
ground, and worked the steel into the most beauti- 
fully made and highly finished double-edged knives. 
Often, these are deeply fluted along the blade; no : 
infrequently they are inlaid with silver or copper, 
and occasionally one is seen with the steel blade 
welded to a copper section near the handle. The 
skill, patience, and ingenuity exhibited by these In- 
dians in transforming old files into highly finished, 
ornately decorated, and perfectly tempered knives 
are among the most amazing features of the north- 
west aborigines. a 

The bone swords of these Indians are unique, and 
although they might perhaps be classed as a form of — 
club, yet they are distinctively cutting weapons and 
when wielded by a muscular man would cleave an 
enemy’s skull or sever his neck at a single stroke. 
Among the Kwakiutl, these swords take the form of 
a gigantic bowie knife, and are about thirty inches 
in length and about divel eighths of an inch thick at 
the back, the cutting edge being ground to a keen- 
ness that is almost equal to that of a metal weapon. — 
As the Kwakiutls were head-hunters, such swords — 
must have been very handy for decapitating their en- _ 


INDIANS OF THE FAR NORTHWEST 375 


emies. Each sword is made from a single piece of 
whale’s bone, and is provided with a good hand grip 
and a perforation for attaching a cord with which to 
suspend the weapon from the warrior’s neck or to 
attach it to the owner’s wrist. 

One such sword, which was obtained from the Van- 
couver Kwakiutl and is now in the Museum of the 
American Indian, Heye Foundation, in New York, 
has a history and a legend which are particularly 
interesting as illustrating the folklore of these In- 
dians. Moreover, the legendary story of how the 
sword originated is most amazingly like the legend 
of the bolas, as told by the Mapuche (Araucanian) 
Indians of Chile (Chapter XXIIT). 

According to the Kwakiutl tale, the original owner 
of the sword was Quekagila, who was the first of 
the Nahwittie tribe and lived at the base of a hill on 
Hope Island. He was all alone, and some of the 
other tribes tried to kill him, so he sought refuge on 
top of the hill with his wife and three daughters. 
There he made a house of hemlock boughs. One 
morning he arose early, and while going down to 
his canoe he met the double-headed sea monster or 
Sisiutl in his pathway. He tried to pass; but Sisiutl 
would not move out of the way. Then he tried to go 
around, but found a deep pool barred the way. He 
was now tired of walking, so he sat down beside the 
pool and noticed that the water moved. 

Presently, he saw a totem pole come out of the 
water, and he heard a voice saying that he would be 
a great chief if he took the totem pole. But he would 
not take it, so the totem pole went down into the 


376 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


water and a canoe with two men in it came up, and 
the voice said he would be a great hunter if he took 
the canoe and the men’s spears. But he would not 
take these, so the canoe went back into the water. — 
Then a little man came up, carrying a stone chisel : 
and a stone hammer, and the voice told the Indian — 
that he would be a great canoe-maker if he took the — 
hammer and chisel. But he would not take these, 
and the man went back into the water with his tools. — 

Then, at last, the bone sword came out of the pool, 
and the voice said that if he took the sword he would — 
be a mighty warrior and would kill all his enemies. — 
So he took the sword, and went with it in his canoe, — 
and killed all his enemies, and then he went down — 
from the hill and dwelt in safety with his children — 
and grandchildren, who were the ancestors of the — 
Kwakiutls. | 

Among these tribes, ceremonies, both of a religious — 
and nonreligious nature, were exceedingly numerous, 
complicated, and spectacular. Rituals were carried — 
out for almost any reason or for little reason at all. — 
There were ceremonials for worship; ceremonies to — 
invoke the aid of supernatural beings; rites which — 
dramatized some ancient legend, and in which the ~ 
participants impersonated various mythological | 
characters, monsters, and animals; and ceremonies — 
for the site purpose of displaying personal wealth. — 
In addition, there was the Potlach, a ceremonial feast — 
during which immense quantities of personal prop- — 
erty were given away, the giver often impoverishing 
himself and thereby gaining great merit and the — 
deepest respect of his fellow tribesmen. 


INDIANS OF THE FAR NORTHWEST 377 


On such occasions, too, the younger members of 
the tribes were initiated in the various secret socie- 
ties; their noses, ears, and lips were pierced; and 
among such tribes as the Haidas, the children were 
tattooed. Invariably, all ceremonies were accom- 
panied by dancing, singing, beating of drums, the 
shaking of rattles, blowing of flutes and fifes, and 
other typically Indian accompaniments. 

Many of the dancers were grotesquely painted 
from head to foot, and usually masks were worn. 
These masks are among the most typical and remark- 
able objects used by these northwestern tribes. They 
are made of wood, copper, or other material, and 
are elaborately and artistically carved and painted, 
the painted designs being outlined or stenciled on 
by means of leather or bark patterns. 

Although it is often thought that the designs of 
these masks are purely fanciful, this is not the case. 
Kivery carving and painting on these, and on the 
ceremonial rattles and other objects, has its mean- 
ing, which may be symbolic or may be the represen- 
tation of some easily recognized object. Usually the 
carvings and paintings represent the mythological 
characters appearing in the ceremony, but clan 
totems are also used, and not infrequently the de- 
signs are carved cartoons designed to depict persons 
held in derision. Occasionally, too, portraits appear 
on the masks, and very often these are so well ex- 
ecuted that they are easily recognizable, the Indians 
having a wonderful gift of catching the most promi- 
nent salient features or peculiarities of a subject, 


378 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


and exaggerating them, much as do our best car- | 
toonists. 4 

Very often the masks are ingeniously fitted with : 
movable eyes, lips, or tongues, which are mechan- 
ically operated by means of strings pulled by the - 
wearers. Others are far too large to be worn by a 
single dancer and are borne by several Indians in 
unison. Such are the immense masks which repre- — 
sent sea monsters and have movable tails, fins, and 
jaws, and which are made in several sections, each — 
carried by an Indian, and cleverly joined together : 
much after the fashion of the giant wei saa in 
Chinese processions. 

Among these tribes, too, medicines, charms, taliel : 
mans, etc., were used, the Indians hiwiel great faith — 
in the Hoalinle potency of anything unusual, such as — 
oddly colored or shaped pebbles, malformed branches © 
or roots, certain bird skins, animal skins, and carved - 
charms of wood or stone. The sacred or medicine ~ 
bundles of our plains Indians were unknown to these ~ 
northwestern tribes. 


CHAPTER XxI 
INDIANS SOUTH OF US 


HOUGH few persons realize the fact, there are 
many times more Indians in Central and South 
America than in North America. It is impossible to 
state accurately just what the Indian population of 
South and Central America totals; but it has been 
estimated at several millions, and the present head 
of the Indian confederation (see Chapter IV) claims 
twenty million followers. 

Many tribes comprise from thirty to fifty thou- 
sand members, and the population of Bolivia is 
nearly 90 per cent Indian. These figures do not in- 
elude the Mestizos or mixed bloods which, if in the 
United States, would be classed as Indians. 

In South and Central America a much larger pro- 
portion of the Indians are civilized than in North 
America, and in many of the countries south of us the 
laboring classes, as well as many of the most wealthy 
and prominent men, are largely Indians. Neverthe- 
less there are countless thousands of South and 
Central American Indians who live as primitively, 
are as aloof and wild, and are as untouched by civ- 
ilization as in the days of Columbus. Many thou- 
sands have never been visited by white men, and 
there are unquestionably many thousands whose ex- 


istence is entirely unsuspected. 
379 


380 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


While many of the Central and South American — 
tribes have the reputation of being hostile, yet, in 
most cases they will not attack or molest a white — 
man unless he is the aggressor, and their so-called — 


hostility usually consists of endeavoring to keep out- 
siders from entering their territory. They have 


learned from the experience of other tribes that the 
advent of the white man means the loss of their 


lands, the destruction of their race; and they are | 


striving to protect their homes and their families. 


As a whole the Indians of Central and South | 
America differ greatly from those of North America _ 
in physical characters, life, customs, arts, and other — 
ways. But very often they are strikingly similar in 
their beliefs, handiwork, psychology, industries, and 


other matters. Even among tribes which apparently 


have nothing in common with any North American , 
tribe, one frequently and most unexpectedly dis- 


covers some custom, art, decorative motif, or other 
characteristic which has its counterpart among the 
North American tribes. ; 


Thus, among an almost unknown tribe in Guiana, 


I found the Indians using a peculiar type of gage 


for measuring the thickness of wood in making dug- — 


out canoes. I had never seen anything like it used 


by neighboring tribes or by other South American 
Indians I have visited, but an almost exact counter- _ 


part of the gage, identical in shape, design, and other 


details, was, I found, in use by Indians in Alaska, 


although nothing of the sort was known to the In- — 


dians living between the two widely separated coun- 


tries. 


ee ee ee a a 


INDIANS SOUTH OF US 381 


Such remarkable similarities do not, however, 
necessarily mean that there is any connection or 
racial relationship between the tribes. Often it is 
mere coincidence, the result of primitive man’s work- 
ing along similar lines to achieve a certain result, 
while in other cases it may be the result of trade or 
intercourse in ages long past. 

Physically, the South and Central American tribes 
differ strikingly from those of North America. In 
the tropical sections, the Indians are usually dark 
skinned, averaging a clear ocher or orange-brown. 
They are short, little more than five feet in height; 
stocky, with enormously broad shoulders and deep 
chests, and with large heads and small legs and feet. 
Aquiline noses are the exception rather than the 
rule, and many tribes have noses so broad and flat 
that they appear almost negroid. The mountain 
tribes and those of the south temperate zone are 
larger, lighter, and better proportioned; while in 
the extreme south of South America we find tribes 
strikingly like our plains Indians. All this goes far 
to prove that environment has a marvelous effect on 
the physical characteristics of a race. 

Southward, beyond the borders of the United 
States, we find the Indians of northern Mexico very 
similar in many of their habits, customs, and arts, 
to the Indians of our southwestern deserts; for 
naturally, a mere geographical or international 
boundary line will not mean a complete change of 
tribal ways or tribal limits. Hence the Yaquis, who 
belong to our North American Yuman-Piman group, 
and are in many ways similar to our Apaches and 


382 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


Yumas, have been described in the chapter on the ; 
Indians of our deserts. a 
In northern Mexico are many other tribes closely - 
related to those of our Southwest. Among these are 
the Quiriegos, Bavispes, Cucurpes, Tuapes, Nuris, © 
Movas, Onavenos, and others, some of whom are 
racially related to the Yaquis, others to the Seris, 
and still others are of distinct linguistic stock. Many — 
of these are civilized, or have been so long in contact — 
with the Spanish that they have lost their ancestral — 
ways, while a few still retain their aboriginal cus- — 
toms, which are so similar to those of the neighbor- | 
ing tribes that a separate description is not war- 
ranted. | : 
; 

| 

| 

| 

; 


Farther south, in central and southern Mexico, are 
totally different tribes of racial stocks not repre- 
sented in the northern portion of the country or in 
North America. Some of these are of Aztec or 
Toltec descent, others speak the ancient Nahuatlan 
dialect, and some appear to be the sole representa- 
tives of distinct races. | 

Such are the Huicholes of central Mexico, a tribe 
whose customs, arts, religious beliefs, and strangely 
complicated and elaborate system of gods, fetishes, — 
sacred rites, and ceremonies are wholly different 
from any other known tribe of American Indians. 
Once partly civilized, and with missions in their dis- : 
trict, the Huicholes have reverted to their original — 
state and have completely cast off the influences of | 
civilization and Christianity. They are not nomadic, — 
but have well-built villages. As a rule they dislike — 
living in the: communities and prefer to occupy sepa- 


: 


INDIANS SOUTH OF US 383 


rate houses on small ranches, only gathering at their 
pueblos for ceremonies, feasts, councils, etc., while 
the elect of the tribe, such as the chiefs, medicine 
men, and other officials, reside in the villages perma- 
nently. | 

Their houses are circular in form and are con- 
structed of stone walls with thatched roofs. Their 
food consists of corn, beans, and other vegetables, 
grown on well-tilled but small farms. Meat is never 
eaten except for religious purposes. 

In physical appearance, these Indians are of 
medium height, reddish brown in color, and have 
well-cut, regular features, many of the women being 
strikingly handsome. The men wear their hair in 
several ways; sometimes in queues, drawn back and 
bound with bark; sometimes loose and flowing; and 
at other times loosely secured with a fillet about the 
head. The women’s hair is invariably mixed with 
ribbons; but it may be loose, braided, or done up 
in a sort of ‘‘bun.”’ 

The man’s costume consists of a cotton or woolen 
shirt of native weave, and often elaborately embroid- 
ered, a scanty breechcloth, and palm sandals. The 
women wear skirts and tunics of cotton or wool and 
sandals of woven palm leaf. 

Throughout central Mexico, the Huicholes have a 
wonderful reputation as doctors, and are frequently 
called upon by the Spanish Mexicans, even of the 
highest classes. Indeed, nearly every member of 
the tribe appears to be a doctor of some sort. While, 
like most Indians, their medical practice consists 
chiefly of nostrums and magic, yet there is no doubt 


884 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


that they possess a deep knowledge of herbs. and 
natural drugs, and also are able to cure many ills 
by means of hypnotism or auto-suggestion. a 

But it is in their religious beliefs and observances 
that the Huicholes are most remarkable. Temples. 
are everywhere and ‘‘god houses’’ are still more 
numerous. Outwardly, the temples resemble the 
ordinary dwellings, but are larger; while within, 
they are very different. In the center of the floor is 
a sacred fire, while on the farther side of the fire, or 
opposite the door which always opens to the east, is 
a mound or low pyramid of hard-packed voleanic 
ash, usually carved with figures of deer, which are - 
most sacred animals to these Indians. pan these 
sacred mounds the shamen or medicine men stand — 
and chant the rituals during ceremonies. Outside 
the temples, and usually near every dwelling, are 
the smaller temples or god houses. | 

During religious and other ceremonies, offerings — 
are made at these temples and god houses. These 
consist of bowls of chicha, food, utensils, decorations, — 
and innumerable ceremonial arrows. According to 
the Huicholes, these offerings become valueless after 
five years; and, at the expiration of that period, the — 
offerings are Pe and the entire temple roof 
torn down and renewed. 

No one, not even a member of the tribe, knows — 
exactly how many gods the Huicholes have. In fact 
they are unlimited, for to these Indians every knoll, 
hill, or stone of unusual form or color isa deity. _ 

ds tie each god has from seven to ten names, — 
‘so that it is impossible for a stranger even to hope 


INDIANS SOUTH OF US 385 


to acquire a knowledge of Huichole mythology. Very 
strange are some of the names bestowed upon the 
gods of these Indians. For example, there are 
Father-Deer-Hunter, Mother-West-Wind, Grand- 
mother-Growing-Corn, Uncle-Little-Rabbit-One, ete. 

All of these deities are supposed to dwell in water 
holes and springs, the Indians claiming that all gods 
originally came from the sea, and on land made 
water holes in which to live. The men are con- 
sidered sons of gods, and the women daughters of 
goddesses. Hence it is not surprising that these 
Indians are intensely religious, that every custom 
and act is connected with religion, or has some sacred 
significance, or that such elaborate ceremonies and 
innumerable offerings are made to gods, who are 
regarded as immediate ancestors. 

Another peculiar and interesting feature of the 
Huicholes’ religion is their extensive use of images. 
These are of clay, stone, and wax, often decorated 
with beads, and usually painted in symbolic designs. 
In addition to these, stone symbols are used, which 
are elaborately painted with designs which have well 
understood meanings and often tell, to the initiated, 
complete legends. | 

Sacrifices of animals are frequent, the most sacred 
being deer. Among the most noteworthy and pro- 
fusely used offerings are ceremonial arrows. These 
are not only ornamented with wax paintings, but are 
decorated with beadwork strips, feathers, queer 
targetlike affairs of worsted and colored cotton 
thread, medicine packets, ete. 


386 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


In their arts and industries, the Huicholes show 


great skill and artistic ability. Their baskets are ex- 
cellent; their hats, adorned with feathers, are strik-— 
ing; ies weave rape textiles of cotton and 


| 
‘ 
3 


wool; and their wax painting is truly remarkable. } 
tinat, the decorative designs on their arrows are 
made with colored wax, and instead of using thread © 


for sewing beads on objects; they stick them on with 
wax. 

In temperament, the Huicholes are peaceful if 
not molested; but they possess a strongly warlike 


spirit, and are splendid fighters, using powerful | 
bows, war clubs, and knives, and wearing padded 


woolen shields or armor as protections. 

Many of the Mexican tribes are so thoroughly 
civilized that they are, to all intents and purposes, 
Mexicans, and have lost all their old tribal customs, 
habits, and ways,.although retaining their dialects, 


their tribal unity, and their arts. Many are noted — 
for their consummate skill as silver workers and 
others are famed for their pottery. Many are ex- 


perts at weaving and, on most primitive looms, weave 


the beautiful zerapes or Mexican shawls, some of 
which are veritable marvels of the textile art and 


cannot be duplicated or equaled by machinery. 


South of Mexico proper, in Yucatan and Guate-— 
mala, are many tribes, some civilized and some 


savage, largely of Mayan ancestry or showing strong 


influences of the Maya rule and culture which, in 
centuries past, dominated much of Central America. | 
The Maya type extends well into Honduras and 


crops up here and there as far south as Panama. 


INDIANS SOUTH OF US 387 


But in Nicaragua, Salvador, and Costa Rica the 
tribes as a whole are distinct. In Nicaragua are 
many Indians of Carib stock. These are not in- 
digenous, but are descendants of West Indian Caribs 
exiled to the Nicaraguan coast by the British in 
the days when the Antillean Caribs maintained a 
- constant and unremitting warfare with the 
_ Europeans. 
_ Among the true Nicaragua tribes the best known 

and most typical are the Sumus and Mosquitos, the 
latter being much mixed with the exiled West Indian 
Caribs. These tribes make excellent beadwork, 
dress (when not too much influenced by the white 
and colored Nicaraguans) in bark-cloth costumes, 
and are very fond of wooden effigies or proxies of 
weird forms, which are noteworthy for their long, 
jointed limbs. Their woodwork as a rule is crude, 
their weapons, except those used in fishing, are 
primitive, and they depend largely upon agriculture, 
fishing, and laboring on the plantations and at log- 
wood cutting for a livelihood. 

In Salvador, too, there are a number of distinctive 
tribes; but as Salvador is the most progressive, 
thickly settled, and most highly cultivated country 
of Central America, the Indians are largely civilized 
or outwardly so. However, they retain many of 
their aboriginal customs. The Lencas, Pipils, and 
Cacaoperas are noted for their fine hammocks and 
magnificent textile-work, much of which is so finely 
and evenly woven that it seems impossible that it 
is made by hand on crude primitive looms. The 
carved woodwork of these Indians is also very ad- 


388 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


mirable. In their dances and ceremonials they make | 
use of a great variety of masks. Some of these 
are roughly made of wild hog or peccary skin, others 
are carved from wood, and some are elaborately 
fashioned and very lifelike. a 

In northwestern Costa Rica are the GQuatusos, a 
semicivilized, forest race with quite distinctive cus- 
toms, arts, and industries. In eastern Costa Rica 
are the Talamancas, a well-built, brown-skinned 
people dwelling beside the forest rivers and closely 
allied to the Bri-bris who inhabit the mountains near 
the Panama border. Farther west are the Cotos, 
the Terribis, and several related tribes about whom 
comparatively little is known. ; 

Among the heavily forested mountains of north- 4 
eastern Panama is the small and rapidly disappear- 
ing tribe known as the Shayshans or Palenques, 
who in many of their ways, as well as in dialect, are 
strongly Mayan. The Shayshans, who numbered 
less than fifty individuals two years ago, are light 
yellowish brown in color, of medium height, well 
proportioned, and highly intelligent. Their faces” 
are oval, the noses often strongly aquiline, the eyes” 
full and straight, the chins rounded, and the fore- 
heads very high. : : 

Their houses are well built ee are paren several 
feet above the earth, and are usually located on high 
ground near the rivers. There are no villages, the 
people dwelling in widely separated houses scattered 
through the unexplored forests. q 

The tribe is ruled by a cacique or king who ap 
points deputies, usually blood relatives, to admin- 


INDIANS SOUTH OF US 389 


ister the affairs of the outlying districts of his 
domain. | 

Although forest Indians, and depending largely 
on forest products for a livelihood, yet they are not 
primarily hunters or fishermen nor are they agri- 
culturalists. Their vegetable food consists princi- 
pally of wild fruits and tubers, a species of almond, 


_ and the buds and nuts of forest palm trees. A little 


corn and considerable cacao is grown, the cacao 
beans being toasted and ground and used like coffee 
instead of being prepared as chocolate. 

They are a peaceful, quiet race, but do not en- 
courage strangers to enter their country. This 
attitude is due largely to the fact that influenza was 
introduced by the Panamaians several years ago, 
and the Shayshans have been decimated by the dis- 
ease, nearly two hundred members of the tribe hav- 
ing died within three years. 

They are deficient in arts, their pottery and 
basketwork being very crude and their woodwork 
coarse. They have no knowledge of weaving cloth ° 
or of fashioning ornamental beadwork; but they 
make fairly good hammocks and excellent bags and 
nets from pita fiber. Their weapons consist of 
powerful bows and arrows, fish spears, javelins, and 
blowguns in which clay pellets are used in place of 
darts. 

Perhaps their most striking feature is the head- 
dress worn by the chiefs and during ceremonials. 
This consists of a fillet of pita ornamented with 
cotton tassels and fringe, and has a fan-shaped 
arrangement of feathers above the forehead. I do 


390 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


not know of any other tribe which uses this Toned of ¥ 
feather headdress, and it is particularly interesting 
as it is identical aay the descriptions and figures 
left us by the earliest European visitors to America, 
and is exactly like the Maya headdresses shown on 
the ancient sculptures of that race. | 

A short distance south and east of the Shayshan 
district are the Boorabbis, belonging to the Guaymi 
race, and differing very slightly from the true 
Guaymis who inhabit the high mountain plateaus 
of the interior of Panama. In many respects the 
Guaymis are very distinct from any other Central 
American tribe and they are far superior, mentally 
and physically, to any other Panama tribe. They 
average much taller than most tropical Indians and — 
are well built and perfectly proportioned, in their 
physique reminding one of the North American 
Sioux. Their color varies from an ocher or light 
brown in the men to a very light olive in the women, © 
some of the latter being no darker than a brunet 
white woman. The eyes are straight, fairly large, — 
and are not infrequently light brown or hazel. The © 
hair is straight but fine, and is a deep brown rather ~ 
than black, and in the case of the women is often 
decidedly tawny. The typical Guaymi face is rather ~ 
oval, with broad forehead, high but not very prom- © 
inent cheek bones, heavy but rounded chin, and a 
straight or slightly aquiline nose with well developed © 
bridge. 7 

The tribe numbers between twenty and thirty — 
thousand and is governed by three chiefs, two of 
whom are subservient in tribal matters to the third 


From paintings from life by the author 
PANAMA INDIANS 


Boorabbi Bogenah 
Shayshan Teguala 


sen 


Photographs oy the author 


CARIB INDIANS 


Carib Girl, British Guiana Carib Man, British Guiana 


Island Caribs, Dominica Island, British West Indies 
Carib Family, Venezuela 


INDIANS SOUTH OF US 391 


or head chief, although supreme in the administra- 
_ tion of their own districts. There are no villages, 
_ the houses being scattered through the mountains, 
_ often several days’ march apart. They are well 
built with stout walls of split timbers, high roofs 
_ of thick thatch, and are large enough to accommo- 
date a hanhiey of related families, each family 
occupying a little apartment placed alongside the 
wall, and all using the central portion of the house 
in common. 
In habits the Guaymis are very cleanly. Water is 
_ always placed out of reach of domestic animals, the 
_ floors of the houses are swept and cleaned several 
_ times each day, chickens and other livestock are 
_ kept out of the houses, and great care is taken that 
_ the houses are so placed that drainage from them 
cannot contaminate the stream used for drinking 
purposes. 

Although excellent hunters and fishermen, yet the 
| Guaymis are principally agricultural. They raise 
corn, rice, many vegetables and fruits, sweet cas- 
sava, coffee, cacao, and many other food plants. 
_ They possess Belendid mountain ponies and many 
cattle. Although splendid horsemen, yet when 
_ traveling long distances over the mountains, they 
eprcter to go afoot and to travel at night. 

_ They are famed for their beautifully woven and 
Bhighly decorative pita hemp chakaras or bags; they 
F make excellent pottery and have a wonderful eye 
_ for form; they weave most elaborate and magnificent 
_bead collars and ornaments; and they are adept at 
woodworking. They also produce excellent horse- 


yl a a oe — if 
Soa y ’ SI ee 


Sle rede 8 i it ies EE ee Re eee ae 


392 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


hair work, and for spinning hair and pita rope and | 
cord they use a very cleverly designed machine — 


operated by a bow and spindle. 

Although an unconquered race, and maintaining 
their independence and all tribal laws, customs, and 
traditions, and zealously guarding their territory 
against encroachment on the part of the Panamaians 
and other strangers, yet they are far from being 


savages. They are quick to avail themselves of | 


articles of civilized manufacture and prefer the 
white man’s cloth to that of their own weaving. 

The women’s costume, on ordinary occasions, 
consists of a loose wrapperlike, one-piece garment, 
often of gay colors, and decorated with patterns of 
contrasting colors sewed or appliquéd upon the 
ground material. When traveling far, and in rainy 
weather, they strip to a bit of cotton or calico about 
the loins. 

The men’s costume consists of loose, full trousers 
and a loose, smocklike shirt of cotton cloth, the 
trousers’ seams, the yoke of the shirt, the shoulders, 
and oftentimes the sleeves, being highly decorated 
by appliquéd designs in contrasting colors. Like 
the women, the men discard all but a breech clout 
when on the march or exposed to rain. 

Both sexes wear well-made hats of braided palm, 
usually woven in patterns of black and white, and 
often having a band of feathers about the crown. 
These hats are interesting as they are an evolution 
of the feather crown formerly used, which, merely 
by the addition of a crown and a wider brim, became 
a hat. 


INDIANS SOUTH OF US 393 


During dances and ceremonials, or when on offi- 


_ cial business or wishing to appear at their best, the 


men attire themselves in bead collars, bead breast 
plates, girdles and head bands of human scalp locks, 
strings of animal claws and teeth, and feather head- 
dresses denoting their rank and station. Very often 
the latter are truly magnificent, the dance chiefs 


_ wearing headdresses of priceless snow-white egret 


plumes. Those of the medicine chiefs are of the 
long hair from the tail of the giant ant bear. The 
lesser chiefs, headmen, etc., wear feathers of herons, 
eagles, hawks, macaws, and other birds. 

Most striking and gorgeous of all are the head- 


: dresses of the ranking chiefs. These are composed 


of the long, iridescent green tail plumes of the re- 


4 splendent trogon or quetzal. This was the sacred 
_ bird of the Aztecs, and only the kings were per- 
4 mitted to use its feathers. Among the Guaymis the 
_ use of quetzal plumes is confined to the chiefs, and 
__ while the bird is not considered sacred it is regarded 
_ with reverence and is considered regal. 


This alone might lead one to suspect some rela- 


- tionship between the Guaymis and the Aztecs, and 
- such a suspicion is confirmed by the fact that the 

~Guaymi dialect is distinctly Aztec in many of its 
_ words, that the high chief is called Montezuma, and 
_ that the spear throwing stick or atlatl of the ancient 
- Mexicans is still in use by the Guaymis and is known 
_ to them as natlatdt. 


Aside from this throwing stick, by means of which 


a Guaymi can hurl a spear with amazing accuracy 
_ for a surprising distance, these Indians use well- 


Coan ant © NH & 


mp nwNN NHN NY NY NO NO ww ws ee oe 
oOonrornrnrwnrerwcocovwoewmesNn'Foadnwrkriwond-eo 


HEADDRESSES, CENTRAL AND SoutTH AMERICA 


. Headdress, Shayshan Indians, Panama 

. Headdress, Boorabbi Indians, Panama 

. Headdress, Guaymi Indians, Panama 

. Guaymi Headdress of Antbear Hair, Panama 
. Headdress, Teguala Indians, Panama 

. Headdress, Tupi-Towali Indians, Panama 

. San Blas Headdress of Flowers, Panama . 
. Crowns of Wood and Bamboo Strips, Chokoi Indians, Colombia 
. Headdress of Feathers, Talamanca Indians, Costa Rica 

. Head Ornament, Mosquito Indians, Nicaragua 

. Headdress, Salvador 

. Headdress, Tucano Indians, Colombia 

. Headdress, Carib Indians, Guiana 

- Headdress of Cotton, Carib Indians, Guiana 

. Feather Crown, Akawoia Indians, Guiana 

. Feather Crown, Wai-Woi Indians, Brazil 

. Feather Crown, Oriente Indians, Ecuador 

. Feather Crown, Tucano Indians, Brazil 

. Headdress of Feathers, Yurema Indians, Brazil 

. Headdress of Feathers, Caraja Indians, Brazil 

. Headdress of Feathers, Caraja Indians, Brazil 

. Headdress of Feathers, Gran Chaco Indians, Paraguay 

. Headdress of Textiles and Feathers, Yungas Indians, Bolivia 
. Headdress of Basketry, Campas Indians, Peru 

. Feather Crown, Amuensha Indians, Peru | 

. Headdress of Textiles and Feathers, Pano Indians, Bolivia 

. Headdress of Basketry and Feathers, Pano Indians, Bolivia 

. Headdress of Feathers, Aimara Indians, Bolivia 


retee 
ee 
Si 
a5 
2 


“Ne 
Bir 
baat ea Pee See 


396 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


made and powerful bows and arrows, javelins, and 
fishing spears. 

Their religion is a modified sun worship; they use 
many fetishes and charms; and they carry the use 
of proxies to extremes. They have numerous dances 
and ceremonials, the most interesting of which is 
the stick dance. (Chapter VIII.) 

Artificially sharpened teeth are universal among 
the Guaymis, and quite frequently, the front teeth 
are ornamented by perforations and notches near 
the edges. Although these Indians do not practice 
tattooing they have developed facial painting to an 
art. Aside from the tribal mark—a line drawn 
from the bridge of the nose diagonally across the 
cheeks—each painted mark or pattern has its own 
particular significance, and, in order that these may 
be always the same, the Guaymis use carved wooden 
stamps for printing the paint designs on their 
faces." 

Another interesting custom of the Guaymis is 
their use of colored and knotted strings for sending 
messages. These are of plaited palm fiber and are 


white, colored or braided in checks, stripes, or spots” 


of contrasting black and white. Hach color and 
pattern has its meaning and, by tying knots of 


various sizes and in varying groups and numbers — 


in the strings, almost any conceivable meaning is 
conveyed. Thus a white string indicating time is 


1 For shaving, or rather as a depilatory, the Guaymis, as well as 


the Boorabbis, use the seeds of a wild grass. These have sharp — 


stiff barbs on one end and when held by the stem and drawn across 
the skin, pull out the hairs most expeditiously. 


e INDIANS SOUTH OF US 397 
knotted to show the day; another of black indicating 


| : _ a ceremonial message is knotted to mean the charac- 
_ ter and purpose of the ceremonial; while a third of 


a pattern indicating a place or locality message is 
4 knotted to indicate the spot where the ceremony is 
_ to be held. The three when sent together to a dis- 
_ tant house will readily convey the message that at a 
_ certain time and place a certain ceremony is to be 
held. 

_. Strangely enough, in the heart of the Guaymi 
- country, there dwells a very distinct tribe known as 
_ the Bogenahs. These Indians are most primitive, 
_ and in habits, dialect, and physical appearance have 
little resemblance to any other known Ameri- 
_ can tribe. They are very short, the men averaging 
about five feet in height; they have strong bowed 
legs, long arms, and large hands and feet, and are 
usually round shouldered and rather pot-bellied. 
In color they are a deep sienna brown, their fore- 


_ heads are low and receding, their noses flat and 


_ almost bridgeless, their nostrils wide, their cheek 
bones high and prominent, their lips thick, and their 
_ eyes narrow and very oblique. The men have well- 
- developed mustaches and beards of the mandarin 
_ type and, in every way, they appear strikingly Mon- 
1 golian, or, I might better say, Tibetan. They are 
q lacking in intelligence, extremely mischievous and 
cunning, and almost childish in their actions and 
_ behavior. 

_ hey have no fixed homes but are true nomads, 
_ wandering about through the mountains, and sub- 
_ sisting on any game and wild food plants they can 


398 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


find. During the rainy season they build flimsy 
huts for shelters, but during the dry months they 
sleep on the ground wherever night finds them. 

They are kept in complete subservience by the 
Guaymis, are not allowed to have their own chiefs, 
and are regarded as little superior to animals. In- 
deed, the Guaymis treat them with good-natured 
tolerance, much as they would treat some harmless 
and perfectly useless domestic creatures. Strangely 
enough, although the Bogenahs have lost most of 
their own customs and have adopted many Guaymi 
weapons, ways, and habits, yet, completely sur- 
rounded and ruled as they are by the Guaymis, and 
though numbering only a few hundred individuals, 
the Bogenahs have never learned the Guaymi 
tongue but adhere to their own dialect which the 
Guaymis have been forced to learn in order to com- 
municate with them. 

Further south and east in Panama are the Coclés, 
an intelligent, light-brown tribe remarkably similar 
in many ways to the Andean tribes of South Amer- 
ica. Although the Coclés have been thoroughly 
civilized for centuries, and have even forgotten 
their own language, yet they still maintain their 
ancient customs in dances and ceremonials. Their 
most interesting and remarkable dance is the 
Kukwa, so named because the dance costumes are 
made from the kukwa bark. This dance is very 
similar in its purpose, significance, and costumes to 
the devil dances of Peru and Bolivia (see Chapter 
VIII). 

On the other hand, the few Coclé words known to 


INDIANS SOUTH OF US 399 


the older members of the tribe, as well as the names 
of localities, etc., are strikingly Mayan. For ex- 


; _ ample, the word ‘‘Kwah’’ meaning tree is identical 


_ with the Maya word which gave Guatemala its name, 
_ the letter G having been substituted by the Span- 
- iards for K which does not occur in the Spanish 
alphabet. 

_ The Coclé Indians are hard working, industrious, 
_ and are the only inhabitants of their portion of 
_ Panama who carry on any agricultural work. Un- 
_ like any other tropical American Indians with whom 


_ I am acquainted, the Coclés have both dry-season 


_ and rainy-season houses. The dry-weather house is 
_ an open-sided, shedlike structure with thatched roof, 
_ whereas the wet-weather house is solidly built of 
_ wattles plastered with adobe. 

South and east of the Coclé district, along the 
_ Atlantic coast of Panama and on the adjacent 
_ islands, live the so-called San Blas tribes. These 
_ Indians are probably the best known of all the 
_ Panama tribes, for their proximity to civilization, 
_ their frequent visits to Colon, their not infrequent 
_ uprisings, and the exploitation of some of their 


- members as ‘‘White Indians’ have kept the tribe 


- more or less in the public eye. 

_ Although ordinarily referred to as San Blas or 
_ Tule Indians, yet, as a matter of fact, they are a 
_ confederation of four distinct tribes all belonging to 


- the samerace. These tribes are the Kunas, Towalis, 
 Tupi-Towalis, and Tegualas. Originally each tribe 


had its own dialect, customs, and other distinctive 
_ peculiarities. They are now more or less mixed and 


Sig ial sa 


400 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


have adopted the Towali language as a common 


tongue, although the Kunas still use their own dia- 


lect and the older members of the other tribes con-— 


verse among themselves in their tribal tongues. 


Despite the fact that they are a confederation, 
and that a chief who is a member of one tribe may — 
and often does rule over members of the other 


tribes, still the ancient intertribal feuds survive and 


frequently open hostilities between villages break — 


out. 


Originally these Indians inhabited the mainland 


rather than the islands; but to avoid mosquitoes and 


for protection against enemies, the majority of the © 


Indians moved to the San Blas islands, only the 
Kunas remaining in large numbers on the mainland. 

They are all short, stocky people with heavy 
shoulders, deep chests, and small lower limbs— 
typical river or water Indians—and in color vary 


from the light brownish yellow of the Kunas to the — 


rich cinnamon-brown of the Towalis. Their noses 
are rather broad but slightly aquiline in profile, 
foreheads low and broad, cheek bones high, eyes 


straight, chins rounded, and hair black, straight, 


and rather coarse. 
In many of their customs, in dialect, and in tradi- 


tion they are distinctly Carib and are unquestionably © 


offshoots of that race. And, like the Caribs, they 


have always been noted as savage, valiant fighters. © 
In the old days they were constantly at war with — 
the Spaniards and were allies of the British buc- 
caneers, and many to-day speak English and no — 


Spanish. They are famed as sailors and large num- 


INDIANS SOUTH OF US 401 


bers of the men have served as seamen on sailing 


ships and have visited all the ports of the world.. 


_ Being excellent linguists they have acquired a work- 


ing knowledge of many tongues, and one man whom 
I employed spoke ten European dialects, among 


- which was Russian. 


Although primarily a fishing race, yet they are 


also agriculturalists and cultivate gardens and 
- fields on the mainland. They are industrious, quiet, 


and peaceful, unless aroused; and are well-to-do, as 
the coconuts and ivory nuts which abound in their 


_ territory afford an easy means of acquiring what- 


ever they desire. 

Although never truly conquered, yet they ac- 
knowledge the supremacy of Panama, at the same 
time maintaining tribal independence. On many of 
the islands, and on the mainland, they live in exactly 
the same manner as their ancestors; but on several 
islands they have become thoroughly civilized and 
up to date. 

On these islands the old-time Indian houses have 


_ been done away with and neat bungalows have been 
_ built; there are wide streets, street. lamps, and 
_ other modernities; a gang of street-cleaners sweeps 


the thoroughfares daily; there are club houses and 
dance halls and village improvement societies; and 
the chiefs have been done away with and the com- 
munities are administered by young men elected by 
popular vote. 

These Indians are extremely intelligent, and many 
members of the tribe have graduated with high 
honors from the National Institute of Panama, while 


402 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


many of the young girls are taking courses in train- . 


ing as hospital nurses in Panama City. 


In contrast with these up-to-date villages and 
tribesmen are the islands where the old-time cus-_ 
toms prevail. Here the houses are so densely packed — 
together that it is barely possible to pass between 
them, the eaves are so low that one has to stoop — 
while traversing the narrow lanes where sun never 
enters, and there is little or no attempt at sanitation. — 
The houses, walled and roofed with thatch, are large, — 


and often house several families, and life is almost 
communistie. 
Whereas on the civilized islands European gar- 


ments are worn, on the others the women adhere to — 


the tribal costume which, although unquestionably 
more attractive, picturesque, and becoming ig far 
less sanitary than conventional garments. The cos- 


tume of the San Blas women is, in fact, the most — 


striking and peculiar feature of the tribes. It con- 
sists of three garments: a strip of cloth about the 
loins and thighs and worn like trunks or knickers, 
a-mola or smocklike jacket or blouse, and a wide 
strip of bright-colored cloth worn like a Javanese 
sarong and falling to the ankles. 

Both the loin cloth and the sarong-like skirt are 
usually of calico print; but the mola is a unique and 


beautiful affair of Indian manufacture. It is, in 


fact, a veritable cameo in cloth. In making this gar- 
ment a number of layers of variously colored cloth 
are stitched together. This pattern or design is then 
formed by cutting away portions of one or more 
layers of cloth, the edges are turned under and 


a ee as 
Let 


ee 


5 ae 


INDIANS SOUTH OF US 403 


hemmed, and the result is a most artistic and color- 
ful design of as many colors as there are layers of 


material. The designs usually embody the clan 


emblem or totem of the woman’s family. This is 
usually so greatly conventionalized as to be almost 
or quite unrecognizable, and as a rule, various 


; geometrical and arbitrary patterns are added to it. 


Oftentimes most unexpected designs appear, such 
as Chinese or Arabic letters, Roman numerals, clock 


_ dials, steamships, etc., for anything which appeals 
_ to the Indian may be embodied in the design of a 


mola. 

In addition to the garments described, the women 
wear immense golden disk earrings and heavy, tri- 
angular gold nose rings which, in combination with 
the gaudy red and yellow bandana draped over the 
head, give them a most strikingly Egyptian or ori- 


_ ental appearance. About their legs and arms they 
_ wear tight ligatures of beads so wound as to form 


We. 


te 


& 
' 
‘4 


Pad 


rn eae 


Fee) he" ee > er we 
eerie’ a Sed | ee eae i ae 


_ geometrical designs. Their chests are covered with 


strings of beads, shells, coins, silver ornaments, 
teeth, fish bones, claws, seeds, sandalwood, and 
countless other odd, ornamental, or tinkling articles. 

Ordinarily the men wear trousers or overalls of 
dungaree or cotton, loose smocklike shirts with curi- 
ously pleated and tucked bosoms, shoulders, and 
cuffs, and cheap straw hats or battered derbies many 
sizes too small for their large heads. This custom 
of selecting a head piece which perches precariously 


_ upon the uppermost portion of the occiput has often 


2 Beet ye re 2% 


p puzzled those who have seen these Indians. But like 


nearly everything else, it has its reason. To the 


404 THE AMHERICAN INDIAN 


Indian the hat is an ornament and not a protection, 
and as the Indian feather crown is so designed as 
to rest on the top of the head, the Indian, when sub-— 
stituting a hat for a crown, quite naturally and ac- 
cording to age-old custom selects one which may be 
worn exactly as the crown is worn. | 
When among themselves, the men usually discard — 
the shirt, decorate their faces with the painted tribal 
marks, and wear disks of gold in their ears. During 
ceremonials they array themselves in breast orna- 
ments of silver and pelican bones, wild animals’ 
teeth, and beads, and wear striking headdresses. 
The headdress of the chiefs and medicine men 
are gorgeous affairs consisting of basketry frames 
covered with bands of brilliant-colored feathers or 
halo-like rings of eagle plumes. About the rims of 
the frames are placed a number of pompons consist- 
ing of short lengths of cane topped by bunches of 
bright feathers or aigrets and surmounted by the 
long red, blue, and yellow tail feathers of macaws. 
Very distinctive are the dance crowns of the rank 
and file. These are woven from the cerise and ma- 
genta-colored blossoms of a forest tree and are most 
effective. They appear to be peculiar to these San — 
Blas tribes, as they have never been found in use — 
elsewhere. : 
All of these San Blas Indians are adept wood- 
carvers; they can make excellent pottery; they weave — 
splendid cotton and palm-fiber hammocks and a — 
heavy, canvaslike cotton cloth; and they are experts — 
at beadwork, basketry, and other Indian arts. 


INDIANS SOUTH OF US 405 


‘Their dugout canoes are splendid sea boats, and, 
_ under the spread of immense sails, are very swift. 
Although their boats are entirely open, yet these In- 
dians do not hesitate to sail far out to sea, and they 
_ constantly navigate the rough waters between their 
island homes and Colon with their canoes laden to 
the gunwales with ivory nuts or coconuts. 

For weapons these tribes use rather poorly made 
bows and arrows and short blowguns with nonpoi- 
sonous darts. 

All of these confederated tribes employ wooden 
images as proxies; they use large rudely carved 
‘‘gods’’ or proxies in their houses; and they are firm 
believers in innumerable charms and fetishes. They 
_ believe that the deities reside in the sun, moon, and 
_ rivers, and they hold many creatures sacred. The 
dead are buried in hammocks on the mainland far 
from the villages, and the spirits are supposed to 
remain in the vicinity of the graves. 

The tribes are ruled by a number of chiefs, and 
subchiefs. Hach subchief rules his own village or 
island and is aided by a council or cabinet. Over 
these are district chiefs or governors, while the head 
chief or king is, theoretically, supposed to rule over 
the entire confederation. As a matter of fact, little 
_ heed is given to either the district chiefs or the head 
chief, and each community or island is virtually in- 
dependent. 

Among these Indians the descent is by the female 


_ line and the men’s families are of little importance. 


When a man marries he becomes the virtual slave of 
his father-in-law until a girl is born of the union. 


406 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


I have known of old men with large families of boys: 
who still toiled for their fathers-in-law. 


di 
4 
{ 
a 
2 


Women hold a very high position among these ee 4 
dians. Their duties are light, they are most zeal-— 
ously protected and guarded, and they are the most 
emancipated of emancipated women. Mere man is 
entirely subservient to them, they pay little or no 
attention to the chief’s authority, unless it suits — 


them, and they own everything. A man cannot sell 


or trade any of his possessions without his wife’s | 
consent, and he actually owns nothing aside from his — 
garments, weapons, and canoe. Polygamy is per-— 


mitted but is seldom known, for there is far too 


much danger of a man being compelled to labor for — 
his wife’s father to induce a married man to take | 


a second chance at it. 


Among these confederated San Blas tribes are 
many partial albinos, repulsive-looking creatures — 
with tow-colored or almost white hair, pasty, pimply — 
faces, weak, almost colorless, eyes, and with their 
skin often disfigured with blotches or ‘‘liver spots.”’ — 


A few years ago these freaks came prominently into 
the limelight of publicity through the announcement 


that they were a newly discovered race of White 


Indians. 


Asa matter of fact, such partial albinos are atoll 
among nearly all Indian tribes; but as a rule, they — 
are either killed at birth or are kept out of sight. — 
Among the San Blas tribes, however, they are re- 


garded with more or less superstition and are 
spoken of as ‘‘moon children,”’’ the belief being that — 
they are the offspring of the moon god and the In- | 


: i 


INDIANS SOUTH OF US 407 


dian mother, and hence are of partial celestial origin, 
a belief which no doubt originated owing to the pale 
color of the albinos and the fact that they can see 


_ better after dark than during the day. 


Moreover, owing to the conditions of life on the 
islands, such albinos as exist are always visible, and 
hence their numbers appear to be proportionately 
greater than among other tribes. But they are by 
no means as numerous as has been stated, and ac- 
cording to my own observations, and the statements 
of the Indians, there are less than one hundred of the 


_ freaks among the thirty odd thousand members of 
_ the confederated tribes. 


_ Inland from the borders of the San Blas, or rather 


- Kuna district, dwell the Warraus, a nomadic forest 
tribe, reputedly savage and hostile, of whom very 


little is known. The other Indians fear them; but, 


_ as far as is known, they mind their own affairs and 


molest no one. Three individuals whom I met were 


_ friendly though shy. They were tall, well formed, 
_ dark brown in color, and with thin aquiline noses. 


f4 


Their weapons were powerful bows and long, lance- 


_ headed arrows, as well as unusually long blowguns 
_ In which nonpoisonous darts were used. 


Farther east and south, and extending from the 


Kuna district into Colombia, are the Chokois, a 


- quiet, docile, good-natured race of medium height. 
They are dark brown in color with rather broad, 
Straight noses, prominent cheek bones, small eyes, 
low foreheads, small chins, and very coarse, straight, 
black hair. They are primarily agricultural, al- 
though depending a great deal upon fishing. They 


408 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


dwell in small villages near the rivers. Their houses — 
are open-sided, thatched huts raised several feet 
above the ground. They are still primitive in life, 
customs, and habits, even though in close touch with & 
the Panamaian settlements. % 

As arule the men wear only a breech cloth ee the — 
women are content with a strip of calico wound 
about the thighs and reaching to the knees. During — 
dances and ceremonials they deck themselves in — 
bead stomachers, bead head bands, silver armlets ~ 
and bracelets, collars of silver and mother-of-pearl, — 
and they wear unique and striking crowns of paintes 4 
bamboo or wooden strips. 4 

The Chokois are extremely good-natured and fond s 
of fun, and are constantly laughing, joking, and — 
chattering. They are industrious and hard working ~ 
when the mood seizes them, but are happy-go-lucky © 
and lead a care-free life. They are great believers — 
in fetishes, and every hut is filled with roughly- — 
carved images of men and animals which are re- 4 
garded as proxies for the guardian spirits of every — 
conceivable act, deed, or event. There are ‘‘gods”’ — 
of the household, of the family, of the dance, of the — 
hunt, of the field, of fertility, of food, of children, — 
and so on without end. q 

As woodworkers the Chokois rank fairly high; but — 
their pottery is crude, their basketry is not remark- — 
able, and they have no knowledge of textile weaving. — 
Their beadwork, while striking, is neither elaborate — 
nor intricate, and they do not even make hammocks 
but sleep on bark-cloth mats with carved wooden — 
pillows. 


INDIANS SOUTH OF US 409 


Their weapons are bows, arrows, and fish spears, 
and occasionally they use long blowguns and plain 
darts. These guns, which are made of two grooved 
sections fitted together and bound with fiber, are not, 
however, of Chokoi make, but are acquired through 
trade with the Colombian tribes. 

The Chokoi canoes are narrow and round bot- 
tomed and are finished with flattened platformlike 
ends on which the Indians stand when poling their 
craft along the rivers. 

Oddly enough, feathers are taboo among the Cho- 
kois and are never used for any purpose. It is for 
this reason that they employ the wooden and bamboo 
crowns which, at a short distance, resemble feather 
crowns and which attracted the attention of the 
earliest visitors to Panama and were mentioned in 
the journals of Dampier, Esquemeling, and others. 

For musical instruments the Chokois use excel- 
lently made, barrel-shaped drums, Panpipes, reed 
flutes, whistles of various kinds, gourd rattles, and 
flageolets equipped with mouthpieces. 

Strictly speaking, the Chokois are not a Central 
American tribe, but should be included among the 
tribes of South America where, in Colombia, they 
are very numerous and occupy an extensive area. 


CHAPTER XXII 4 
INDIANS OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN JUNGLES : 


LTHOUGH there is no sharply drawn line be- — 
tween the Central and South American tribes, 

yet as a whole, the South American Indians are to- | 
tally distinct and belong to racial stocks which do not — 
exist in middle or North America. With the excep- 
tion of one or two cases, none of the racial 
groups of North or Central America are known — 
to inhabit the southern continent. The Chokois, 
as already noted, lap over into Panama and the 
tribes of the San Blas confederation of the Isthmus — 
are of Carib stock. But, aside from these, the In- © 
dians whom we find inhabiting the mountains, . 
forests, and plains of South America are wholly dis- — 
tinct, as regards racial affinities, customs, dialects, 4 
and even physical characteristics. 4 
Despite the fact that there are more tribes and 
more individual Indians in South than in North 5 


America, they may be far more readily and certainly _ 


divided into a few races, for through the countless — 
ages which have passed since South America was ‘ 
first inhabited by man, the innumerable Indian tribes — 
have not become so widely differentiated nor so in- 
extricably mixed as in North America. 1 


Thus, over almost the entire area of northern and _ 
410 a 


INDIANS OF SO. AMERICAN JUNGLES 411 


eastern South America, from Colombia to Brazil 
and from the Caribbean coast to the head waters 
of the Amazon, there are few tribes which may not be 
classed as belonging to either the Carib, Arowak, or 
Warrau races. Although these tribes may vary tre- 
mendously, and at first appear to be of entirely dis- 
tinct stock, yet, in nearly every case, we may trace 
relationship with one of the three races named. 

Of the three, the Carib tribes are probably the 
most numerous and most widely distributed. Orig- 
inally, Caribs inhabited the Lesser Antilles and some 
of the larger islands, but to-day, with the exception 
of Dominica, Saint Vincent, and Trinidad, the islands 
are destitute of Indian inhabitants. 

Being courageous and savage fighters, excellent 
boatmen, powerfully built men, and cannibals, 
the Caribs wandered far from their original home 
and conquered, destroyed or absorbed, literally and 
figuratively, many other tribes. Moreover, it was 
a Carib custom to carry off the women of the van- 
quished and to adopt them. In other cases, parties 
of raiding Caribs, after conquering an enemy race, 
settled down and formed a new colony. 

As a result of all this, the original Carib charac- 
teristics became greatly altered, and, in a new envi- 
ronment, with their descendants partly of alien 
blood, and with acquired habits, customs, and traits 
inherited from the captive females, these offshoots 
of the Caribs became to all intents and purposes dis- 
tinct tribes. 

In fact, many of the tribes of Carib ancestry were 
constantly at war with the true Caribs and with 


419 THE AMERICAN INDIAN ae 


others of Carib origin, and so long has this aa 
migration been going on that no one can state posi-- 
tively where the true Caribs originated. Some 
authorities claim that the race was indigenous to — 
northern South America and that the West Indies © 
were settled by wanderers from the continent. — 
Other equally prominent ethnologists believe that — 
the Caribs originally dwelt in the interior of Brazil, — 
or even about the upper Amazon, and from there — 
spread to the coast and the islands. Others, with — 
whom I concur, are convinced that the true Caribs — 
were Antillean, and having overcrowded the islands, — 
migrated to the mainland and from there spread — 
west to Panama and across the continent to the west- — 
ern slopes of the Andes. a 

There are many very strong arguments in favor 
of this theory. Unless the mainland had become far 
more densely populated than we have reason to 
think, there would have been no reason for the ~ 
Caribs’ migrating in numbers to the West Indies. — 
They might, to be sure, have raided the islands in 
search of food, in the shape of other Indians, but — 
in that case they would have been more likely to — 
return to their ancestral homes than to have settled — 
on the islands where, very soon, their warlike and — 
cannibalistic propensities would have been greatly — 
curtailed. ; 

Moreover, had they originated on the on fiazut we | 
would expect to find the purest and most typical Ca- — 
ribs in South America, with a mixed or altered tribe — 
on the islands. But as a matter of fact, the reverse — 
is the case. Only along a very limited stretch of — 


Photographs by the author 


TYPES OF JUNGLE INDIANS 
Taruma Man Taruma Woman 
Atoradi Man Atoradi Woman 
Wapisiana Man Wapisiana Woman 


Photographs by the author 
MacusHI, AREKUNA, 
BRITISH GUIANA 


AREKUNA INDIAN USING 
BLOWGUN, GUIANA 


AKAWOoIA GIRL, 
BRITISH GUIANA 


CHOKOI GIRL, 
PANAMA 


| = a i) 
24 rN 


. INDIANS OF 80. AMERICAN JUNGLES 413 


| territory near the sea are there typical true Caribs 
in South America, whereas, on the Antilles, the 
_ Caribs were of the pure yellow strain so easily dis- 


" tinguished by physical characters, from the other 
races. 


There is also the question of canoes, hammocks, 


: blowguns, and many customs and habits. The in- 


= 
Ct al 


sular Caribs have and always have had swift, sea- 


_ worthy canoes capable of navigating wide stretches 
_ of ocean. In these they might easily have visited the 
continent. But the continental Caribs’ craft are 
purely river boats, adapted for calm waters and 
utterly incapable of ocean voyaging. If then, the 
_ Caribs originated in South America why is it that 
{ they are no longer sailors and have lost the art of 


_ building sea-going craft? On the other hand, if the 


_ Caribs came from the islands to South America, and, 
finding game and men abundant, decided to remain 
_ there, they would have had no use for sea-going craft 


a es 


_and would have quickly adopted the river type in use 
_ by the native tribes. 


And if they came from the mainland where the 


| hammock is universally used why did they not intro- 
duce that most useful article to the West Indies? 
_Why did they not introduce that most deadly of 


weapons, the blowgun, and its poisoned darts? And 
why is it that they did not bring any South American 


birds, animals, or food plants to their new homes in 
the Antilles? 


Regardless of whether they originally inhabited 


the islands or the main, the Caribs are a most inter- 
esting and puzzling race. In color the true Carib 


414 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


is a distinct yellow and not brown. He is tall, for 
a tropical Indian, well proportioned, muscular, with 
extremely small hands and feet, and has nothing of © 
the Mongol in his features. His face is oval, the 
forehead high and broad, the eyes large and straight, 
the cheek bones high but not prominent, the chin 
firm, the lips thin, and the nose high bridged and 
often of the Roman type. His beard and mustache | 
are well developed. Quite frequently, his eyes are 
hazel gray or even bluish. Many of the men are 
decidedly Semitic in appearance, and many of the © 
women, and particularly the girls, would be indis- 
tinguishable from Europeans in a photograph. 

Many of their customs also hint at Semitic influ-— 
ence or tradition and, personally, I believe that the 
Caribs are of southern European origin, perhaps the. 
descendants of Pheenician voyagers, perhaps sur-— 
vivors of Atlantis, or possibly the result of an ad- 
mixture of Indians and shipwrecked European navi- 
gators whose vessels were driven across the Atlantic — 
and wrecked on the Antilles. It is well known to his- 
torians that when Columbus touched at Guadeloupe 
on his second voyage he was greatly disturbed to 
find the remains of a Kuropean-built vessel wrecked — 
upon the beach, and, if one vessel could have reached - 
the West Indies from Europe, why not others? 

To the Spaniards, however, the man-eating pro- 
pensities of the Caribs were far more interesting 
and remarkable than the discovery of a wrecked ship. 

They had never before come into contact with the 
Caribs, though they had heard of the tribe, and it 
was the Caribs who gave the word ‘‘cannibal’’ to 


INDIANS OF SO. AMERICAN JUNGLES 415 


our language, the term being merely a mispro- 
nounced form of the Indians’ name. Among them- 
selves the Caribs call themselves the Carinya or, 
broadly translated, The People Who Eat Alone, and 
claim descent from the union of a man and a king 
vulture. 

The term ‘‘Carinya’’ is therefore something of 
an allegory, for the king vulture eats alone while the 
ordinary buzzards wait until he is done, and, like 
that bird, the Caribs of pure blood will not allow 
an Indian of another tribe to eat with him, to use his 
fire or utensils for cooking, and will not even cook 
his own meal over a fire used by another Indian. In 
the past, no doubt, the Caribs did eat very much 
alone, for a member of any other tribe present when 
a Carib dined was invariably in the form of a joint, 
roast, or entrée. 

As a tribal mark, the true Carib wears a tuft of 
the white down of the king vulture attached to his 
forelock by wax, and wherever we find a tribe wear- 
ing a bit of white down, fur, or feathers on the fore- 
head, we may be reasonably certain that the tribe is 
of Carib stock. 

Although such implacable cannibals in the past, 
the Caribs of to-day are quiet, peaceful, and 
friendly, and have no cannibalistic tendencies. 
Though they consider themselves, as they are, supe- 
rior in intelligence, physique, and other ways, and 
regard the other tribes with more or less contempt, 
yet they live on good terms with their neighbors and 
occasionally intermarry. 

They dwell in well-built houses, usually in small 


416 THE AMERICAN INDIAN : a 


e 
; 
villages or groups, the houses of which are of two 
types. One form is walled with woven palm, and ; 
thatched with palm leaves; the other is a an 
open thatched shed. ; 

They are splendid hunters, expert fishermen, — 
skilled lumbermen, and good agriculturalists. They 
are, where not cul sanitieee by civilization, cleanly, 
moral, honest, truthful, and hospitable, and once 
they consider a person a friend or ‘‘brother’’ they - 
will go to any extreme to prove their allegiance. 

They make excellent pottery, the Caribs of Suri-— 
nam alone perpetuating the art of making the beau- 
tiful several-toned Carib ware; they are adepts at 
wood-carving; their basketry is perhaps the finest in — 
South America; they spin cotton and weave splendid — 
hammocks, coarse cloth, and various other articles; 
and their weapons, consisting of bows, arrows, clubs, — 
lances, fish spears, and harpoons, are beautifully — 
finished. : 

Like all the other tribes of tropical South Amer-— 
ica the Caribs depend very largely upon the poison- — 
ous cassava or manioc for food. | : 

And, like most of the other Indians of tropical — 
South America the men wear only a ‘‘lap”’ or breech — 
cloth. In the case of the Caribs, however, the front — 
portion of the lap is ornamented and fringed. The 
women, on the other hand, differ markedly from 
their neighbors in their costume or lack of costume. — 
When indoors or about the village the Carib women © 
wear only a lap, which differs from that of the men — 
in having no fringe, but when in the jungles or work- — 
ing in the fields, they wear a single garment, worn 4 


f 
; 
* 
2 


INDIANS OF SO. AMERICAN JUNGLES 417 


like a toga, with one shoulder covered and the other 


shoulder and breast bare. This garment is not, 


however, donned through any sense of modesty but 
to protect the wearer’s skin from scratches by 
thorns, twigs, etc. 

In addition to these articles of apparel, the Carib 
women wear immense bundles of beads strung about 
their necks, adorn their hair with ribbons and beads, 
and bind their legs with tight ligatures of cotton 
woven in place. Both sexes have the lower lip 
pierced and keep the aperture filled with pins. For- 
merly the pins used were ornamental labrets; but 


_ to-day, the Caribs prefer ordinary white man’s pins 


and use the hole in the lip merely as a pocket. They 
are uncannily dexterous in removing and inserting 
the pins by means of the tongue, and, while talking, 


_ they constantly slip the pins in and out of the per- 


foration in a most distracting and amazing manner. 
Aside from the true Ciribs there are innumer- 


able tribes and subtribes of unquestionable Carib 


stock, as well as many which appear to be a mixture 


_ of Carib and other racial bloods, inhabiting the vast 


area comprising Guiana, Venezuela, Colombia, 
Brazil, and portions of Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru. 
Even to mention all of these by name would require 
more space than is possible in a book of this scope, 


~ and I can only briefly describe a few of the more 


yt a i, a = 


interesting and important of them. 

Probably most numerous in its members, and 
covering a wider territory than any other of these 
tribes, is the Akawoia or Kapohn nation which in- 


418 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


cludes the true Akawoias and Patamonas as well as — 
several other tribes and subtribes which are indis- 
tinguishable to the layman, although differing — 
slightly in dialects and a few customs, arts, and i in- 
dustries. 4 

They are short, stocky Indians with the immensely q 
developed shoulders and chests and underdeveloped ~ 
legs of the jungle or river Indians, and are much — 
darker in color than the true Caribs, being a decided — 
brown which varies, both tribally and individually, 4 
from a russet to a deep sienna shade. The cheek — 
bones are high and often prominent, the forehead — 
low, chin receding, eyes oblique and narrow, nose — 
broad and seldom aquiline, and face beardless or ] 
nearly so. . 

In other words, there is little or no physical re- qj 
semblance between the Kapohn and the Caribs, and F 
the two races differ almost as greatly in many other ‘ 
respects. Although these tribes are considered by — 
most authorities as closely related, yet, personally, 7] 
I am of the opinion that there is very little of the © 
Carib stock in the Akawoia tribes. Many words of © 
their dialects are quite distinct, but there are fully ' 
as many words which are identical. q 

Whatever the extent of relationship, there can be © 
no question that the Akawoias have existed as a 
distinct tribe for many hundreds of years, for they — 
have developed various subtribes, have acquired © 
habits, customs and arts of their own, have become 
HivtineHye4 in features and color, and even have their q 
own religion, beliefs, dances, etc. Moreover, from ' 
_ earliest times, and as far back as tradition goes, they — 


INDIANS OF SO. AMERICAN JUNGLES 419 


have been at war with the true Caribs. All of this, 
however, might have been due to life and environ- 
ment, and the light yellow Caribs, dwelling near the 
sea, might have retained their characteristics, 
whereas others of the race, dwelling in the jungles 
and mixing with other tribes, might have gradually 
developed into the brown, apparently distinct 
Akawoias. 

_ From time immemorial the Akawoia or Kapohn 
people have been primarily traders, gypsylike wan- 
derers who bartered the products of one tribe for 
those of another and carried their trading expedi- 
tions into the interior of Brazil and to the sea coast 
in the other direction. And they were by no means 
_ peaceful traders. Fully as warlike and as coura- 
geous fighters as the true Caribs, the Akawoias were 
quite willing to force their presence and their busi- 
ness upon any other Indians by force of arms, evi- 
dently believing that might made right and that 
business was business. 

As a result of this trading habit, the Akawoias 
have acquired innumerable arts, beliefs, customs, 
industries, and even words which belong, naturally, 
to far distant and distinct tribes, and the Akawoia 
tongue has become the lingua franca of the forest 
Indians and is understood by practically every tribe 
in the interior of the Guianas, southeastern Venezu- 
ela, northern Brazil, and eastern Colombia. Obvi- 
ously this makes it extremely difficult to state 
positively which tribes are or are not of Carib or 
even Akawoia stock, for the Akawoia and Carib 
_ words have been carried immense distances, and the 


420 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


trading Kapohn have left their influence upon scores 
of widely separated tribes. 

Although more or less nomadic, as I have said, 
yet the Akawoia tribes have permanent villages, 
usually consisting of from ten to fifty houses beside 
some river in the forest, the landing plapes and inaild 
being carefully nae 

The houses are open-sided, thatched sheds, which 
are ample protection in the tropics. As the villages” ' 
are moved to new sites whenever the gardens or 
fields become unproductive, such light, easily con- : 
structed dwellings have many advantages. 

Like the Caribs and other races, the Akawoia men 
wear only the lap or breech cloth, but in the case of 
the Akawolas this garment is a plain strip of scarlet 
cloth with no ornamentation. The women, on the 
other hand, do not wear the lap, but in its place use a 
small bead apron or queyw, an ornamental if meager 
article of apparel which is peculiar to the Indians — 
of the tropical forest belt of northern and central 
South America and is almost universally used in 
that territory. In size, the queyu varies according 
to tribe and individual taste, some being barely four 
inches square while others are almost skirtlike in 
dimensions. In every case, however, the queyu is 
of the same general shape and is always beautifully © 
woven in attractive and artistic patterns. The de-— 
sign, in the case of many tribes, embodies the family 
emblem of the wearer, for among most of these tribes © 
descent is by the female line. In addition to the 
queyu, the women wear tight ligatures about the 
limbs, and adorn themselves with innumerable 


INDIANS OF 80. AMERICAN JUNGLES 421 


necklaces and ornamental painting which often 
covers them from head to foot. 

Unlike the Caribs, who employ facial painting 
merely for decorative effects and who do not tattoo, 
the Akawoia races practice tattooing and_ their 
painted designs have significance. The tattooing 
may be in the form of charms or beenas or it may be 
tribal or family marks or even purely ornamental, 
whereas the painted designs are ceremonial. | 

Neither do the Akawoia tribes pierce the lower lip 
as do the Caribs, and the use of the tribal mark of 
white vulture down is not known. Like all of the 
tribes of the interior the Akawoias use many charms 
of the beena type (see Chapter VI) including the 
ant, centipede, and nose beenas. 

Their weapons are powerful bows, arrows of vari- 
ous kinds, heavy wooden clubs, blowguns, and poi- 
soned darts, fish spears, etc. All of these forest 
tribes use arrows which are very long, often six or 
seven feet in length, and which are neither notched 
nor feathered, except occasionally when one or two 
bits of feathers are attached, more for decorative 
_ effect than to improve the accuracy of the weapons. 

Despite their ungainly length and lack of feather- 
_ ing, these arrows in the hands of an Indian, and shot 
_ from a seven-foot ironwood bow, are most accurate 
_and deadly. I have often seen an Indian shooting 
_ at oranges suspended from the waving tips of palm 
_ fronds and never missing his mark; and their skill 
at shooting leaping, rushing fish in the rapids of 
_ the rivers is almost uncanny. 

Far more deadly than the bow and arrow is the 


422 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


blowgun and poisoned dart, the most terrible weapon 
ever invented or used by primitive man. As poison 
makers the Akawoian tribes are famed throughout 
tropical South America, and the bulk of the deadly; 
wurali or curari poison which is used on the blow-— 
gun darts is manufactured by these tribes. i 

The brewing of the wurali is an almost religious - 
ceremony, and is surrounded with the greatest mys- ; 
tery and secrecy. The exact composition of the stuff € 
is known only to the peaiman or medicine man, who | : 
reveals it only to his successor. Although innumer- — 
able strange ingredients are employed, such as ants, | 
snake-fangs, scorpions, centipedes, human hair, 
feathers, blood, etc., most of these are merely added - 
to Dake impress, and mystify the onlookers, and 
to conceal the true poisons which are various roots, | 
leaves, and plant juices, mainly of the strychnine ~ 
eoaity Various gums and mucilaginous tubers - 
are also added to the mess to give it tenacity and 
body, and the whole is brewed in a specially made 
pot which is always destroyed after the wurali is 
made. P 

The concoction is mixed with a paddle-like stirrer 
made in the form of a ceremonial war club and this” 
must, according to Indian belief, be burned in the 
fire aed to cook the poison if the poison is to be ef- : 
ficacious. When properly prepared the wurali is a i 
gummy, dark brown, or black mass much like asphalt 
or shoemaker’s wax in appearance. 

It is kept in receptacles made of gourds or nut 
shells and is most carefully guarded and protected, 
for it is almost priceless and its virulency is greatly 


% 


INDIANS OF SO. AMERICAN JUNGLES 423 


affected by dampness, heat, or extreme dryness. 
Only a minute quantity of poison is used on a dart, 
the wurali forming a thin coating on the very tip of 
the sliver of palm leaf midrib. The poisoned darts 
are kept in woven rolls much resembling the tool 
rolls used by mechanics. This roll, together with a 
number of unpoisoned darts, is contained in a water- 
proofed basketry quiver of cylindrical form. To the 
quiver are attached a tiny basket filled with fluff 
from the silk cotton tree, the poison receptacle, and 
the jaw and teeth of the cannibal fish or perv. 
When a poisoned dart is to be used it is carefully 
withdrawn from the roll and the poisoned end is 
twirled between the teeth of the fish jaw, thus notch- 
ing the dart above the poisoned area and weakening 
_ it so the tip will break off at a touch. This is highly 
important, as otherwise the dart might strike the 
quarry or some other object and drop to earth where 
it would endanger the life of any passing Indian who 
might step upon it. 
Next, a bit of the silk-cotton fluff is wound about 
the extremity of the dart and the tiny arrow is in- 
serted in the blowgun. With a short, explosive puff 
of breath the tiny messenger of death speeds in- 
visibly, silently to its mark, and so quickly does the 
- -wurali destroy that a bird rarely flutters a dozen 
yards, and a deer seldom runs fifty paces before 
_ death overtakes it. 
There is no known antidote for the poison, al- 
_ though the Indians claim that if taken in time a mix- 
ture of salt and lime juice will counteract the poison. 
_ They frequently shoot macaws and other birds with 


424 = THE AMERICAN INDIAN ae 
poisoned darts, treat them with this antidote, and 
save their lives when the birds are desired as pets. 
But I have noticed that the darts used in such cases — 
are very slightly poisoned, and I have never been — 
able to induce any Indian to prick himself with a 
poisoned arrow and then prove the efficacy of the q 
lime and salt remedy. “| 

The accuracy and force of the blowgun darts are a 
truly amazing. I have seen an Indian fire five darts — 
in rapid succession into a visiting card at thirty 4 
paces; humming birds are brought down from the 4 
tops of tall trees; and the tiny, fragile darts can be 4 
blown with such force that they will penetrate nearly — 
half an inch into soft wood. | 7 ha 

Oddly enough, although the Akawoia tribes are z 
the most noted poison-makers, and are inveterate 
users of the blowguns, yet these weapons are never ; 
made by the tribe, but are the product of the Myan- — 
gongs and other tribes who, just as oddly, have no 
knowledge of concocting the wurali. Hence the : 
Akawoias exchange their poison for the blowguns, 
and barter both with other tribes, receiving in ex- | 
change articles which are in demand by still other — 
Indians. gi ‘ 

Like all the neighboring tribes, the Akawoias have 4 
innumerable dances and ceremonials, such as the q 
Bimiti, Parasara, etc. (see Chapter VIII), and like © 
their neighbors, they use several slightly alcoholic q 
beverages such as cassiri and paiwarrie. The for-_ 
mer is made from the red sweet potato, boiled and — 
slightly fermented, and is not at all unpleasant, and — 
is very refreshing. Paiwarrie, which contains a i 


INDIANS OF SO. AMERICAN JUNGLES 425 


trifle more alcohol, is made by the women who mas- 
ticate the charred cassava cakes and spit the sub- 
stance into a trough where it soon ferments, the 
saliva acting like yeast. 

_ When ready for use the paiwarrie is a brownish, 
disgusting-looking liquid filled with black specks of 
burned cassava and of a general muddy consistency. 
It has a slightly sour or tart taste and is very re- 
freshing, though the average person, who is familiar 
with its preparation, usually has hard work to stom- 
ach it. However, both cassiri and paiwarrie are in- 
variably offered to the visitor to an Indian house or 
camp, and the Indians regard it as a sign of enmity 
and a deliberate insult if the stranger refuses to 
drink it. During their festivities the Indians con- 
sume vast amounts of these beverages, and the ac- 
cumulated alcohol finally takes effect and the festi- 
val ends in a glorious drunken orgy. 

The cassava, used in the preparation of paiwarrie, 
is the mainstay of all the Indian tribes of tropical 
and subtropical South America, The root, which in 
its raw state is deadly poison, is prepared by grating 
and then pressing the root in a basketry sieve and 
press combined. This utensil, known as a metapee, 
is in the form of a long cylinder and is so woven that 
when compressed lengthwise its diameter is in- 
creased, and when the ends are drawn apart the 
diameter is decreased. 

_ The grated cassava is pressed into the metapee 

when the latter is shortened and of its largest diam- 
eter. The upper end of the affair is then attached 
_ to a tree limb or rafter; a short bar of wood is in- 


7 


426 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 1 


serted in the opposite end; and two women seat 
themselves upon this bar. se their weight draws 
out the metapee and decreases its diameter, the con- 
tents are subjected to enormous pressure which 
forces the juice out through the interstices of the 
basket-work and leaves the residue almost dry. Most 
of the poison of the root is eliminated with the juice, 
and what remains is readily driven off by heat. 

The grated root may either be heated and stirred : 
and dried to a coarse meal known as farine, or it 
may be toasted or baked in the form of huge, thin - 
cakes or cassava bread. In either case it forms a 
nutritious but rather dry and tasteless food which, 
if kept dry, will remain fresh for months. By boil- 
ing the meal and drying the liquid on hot stones or | 
plates, tapioca is prepared. The poisonous juice, 
extracted by the metapee, when boiled to the con- 
sistency of syrup becomes nonpoisonous and is used © 
as a preservative and sauce for meats. How the In- 
dians ever discovered that a highly poisonous root — 
could be transformed into a nutritious and healthful 
food is one of the greatest mysteries of the La of 
the American Indian. ; 

Although all of these tribes do oonbsdueabte hunt-— 
ing and fishing—shooting the fish with bow and 
arrow more often than capturing them by nets or 
hooks—yet they depend mainly upon agriculture. — 
Their fields are small patches of partly cleared — 
forest where, between the felled trunks and the up- F 
standing stumps of the trees, cassava, sweet pota-_ 
toes, maize, rice, pigeon peas, yams, and other vege- _ 
tables are planted. | 


_ INDIANS OF SO. AMERICAN JUNGLES 427 


Whenever a field becomes exhausted or unproduc- 
tive, or whenever a member of the village dies, the 
vicinity is abandoned and the people move, bag and 
baggage, to a new locality. In traveling they always 
follow the rivers, hauling through and running 
rapids in their dugouts or in their frail but buoyant 
woodskins. The dugouts vary in design and size 
with the various tribes, but the woodskins are always 
much alike. 

These craft can be constructed in a few hours and 
are often large enough to accommodate a dozen or 
more Indians. In making a woodskin, a purple- 
heart tree is felled, two rings are cut around the 
trunk at the desired distance apart, a longitudinal 
eut is made connecting these, and by means of 
_ wooden wedges the cylindrical section of tough, thick 
bark is forced off. Notches are then cut near each 
end, braces are placed between the edges, and the 
extremities are drawn together and ‘‘cocked up’’ by 
means of tough forest vines or ‘‘bush ropes.’’ The 
eompleted woodskin will withstand an immense 
amount of banging about on rocks, it is light enough 
_ to be portaged easily around impassable falls, and if 
along portage is necessary it may be abandoned and 
_ another woodskin may be made in a short time. 

All of these tribes are passionately fond of dances 
and ceremonials, and will desert their homes and 
_ travel hundreds of miles by river to attend a festi- 
_ val. When attiring for the dance, the Akawoia dons 
a gorgeous, halo-like feather crown with two or three 
long macaw tail feathers at the rear, and with a long 
_ tail or ‘‘bob’’ of bright-colored feathers, birds’ skins, 


428 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


seit hanging from the back of the crown to the wear- 
er’s knees or ankles. In addition to these crows q 
many necklaces of beads, teeth, and seeds are worn, 
as well as bandolier-like bande of jaguar or peccary : 
teeth strung over the shoulders and across the breast. 
During certain dances, feather capes are worn, and : 
bead belts and girdles of musically tinkling seeds are 
donned. ; 
As wood-carvers, the Akawoia tribes rank with — 
the Caribs, and their war and ceremonial clubs, their 


paddles, and their wooden stools are extremely well — 
made. They are also expert basket-makers, and pro- 
duce fairly good pottery. Like all the Porat tribes, f 
they use hammocks, which are woven of cotton — 
twine; and they also weave coarse cotton cloth which 
18 taba for baby-carriers, bags, pouches, ete. 

In their religion the Akawoias, like the Caribs, be- 
lieve in a supreme being who dwells in the sky; and ' 
in their mythology they have numerous lesser 
deities. Unlike the Central American tribes, the } 
Akawoias and their neighbors of northern and cen-— 
tral South America are not much given to the use — 
of proxies or fetishes in the form of animal or human — 
effigies. Occasionally they use tiny clay or stone 


figures as good-luck charms or amulets, but the — 
larger wooden images or ‘‘gods,’’ so universal in _ 
the houses of the Central American tribes, are en- ; 
tirely unknown. q 

In their home life the men perform many house- 
hold and camp duties and the women do very little — 
hard labor aside from tilling the fields, gathering the — 
crops, and carrying their own burdens when travel- — 


INDIANS OF SO. AMERICAN JUNGLES 429 


ing. The amount that these and the other Indians 
of the district can carry, by means of a tumpline 
passed across the forehead and attached to a pack 
basket on the back, is truly astonishing. From 80 
to 100 pounds is the normal load and I have known a 
young girl to carry 140 pounds for more than twenty 
miles through forests and over steep mountain trails 
without the least signs of weariness. 

Although polygamy is permitted, it is seldom that 
aman has more than one wife, and small families of 
two or three children are the rule. In case a chief 
has no male child he is permitted to marry his own 
daughter, the belief being that a son is always born 
of such a union, and, strangely enough, this is usually 
the case. 

Although quiet, reserved, and even surly in the 
presence of strangers, yet among themselves, and 
when they become acquainted with an outsider, they 
are merry, talkative, light-hearted, and fond of 
_ jokes, puns, and games. They are peaceful, docile, 
and hospitable, and are excellent laborers where the 
work is adapted to them, as in lumbering, paddling, 
portaging, droughing, or as boatmen. But, like all 
their fellows, they are a bit unreliable as steady 
workers for, without any warning and apparently 
without reason, they will suddenly drop their work, 
and even leave wages due them, to go home or to 
attend some dance or ceremonial. When not spoiled 
by close contact with civilized men they are moral, 
honest, truthful, and cleanly. They are very gentle 
towards their children, are tender-hearted, and are 
passionately fond of pets of all kinds; but they are 


430 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


unrelenting in their enmities, never forgive or for- — 
get an injury, are easily offended, and are shrewd, — 
canny, and utterly without conscience when it comes 


to trading or business matters. 


Farther south, on the high interior savannas of — 
the Brazil-Venezuela-Guiana boundaries, dwell sev- — 
eral other tribes of supposedly Carib stock. Among — 
these are the Macushis and Arekunas, the latter ex- — 
tending well into the forested area or Akawola dis- — 
trict, while the Macushis are strictly savanna In- © 


dians. 
In many ways the Arekunas closely resemble the 


Akawoias, the principal differences being due to © 
environment and the adaptation of their mode of life — 


to the open savanna country. Unlike the open benabs 
of the forest dwellers, the Arekuna and Macushi 
houses are solidly built, often huge structures with 
thick, wattled, and thatched walls and high, steeply- 
pitched, thatched roofs. The houses of the Are- 
kunas are usually oval, round, or rectangular with 
rounded ends, while the Macushis prefer square or 
rectangular homes. 

Both tribes are brown skinned, the Arekunas 


verging on the yellow, while the Macushis are a — 
shade lighter than the Akawoias. Both tribes are 


better proportioned than the forest and river In- 


dians, and both go nude with the exception of breech- — 


cloths for the men and bead queyus for the women. 
The features of the two tribes are, however, quite 


distinct. The Arekunas have well-bridged, straight, — 


or slightly aquiline noses and straight eyes, whereas 


the Macushis have broad, rather flat noses and } 


INDIANS OF SO. AMERICAN JUNGLES 431 


oblique eyes. In their life, habits and many of their 
customs the two are somewhat similar, as are many 
of the other tribes dwelling in the savanna and forest 
areas of Venezuela, Brazil, and Guiana. Among 
these may be mentioned the Myangongs, a shy little- 
known, and rather primitive tribe in southern 
Venezuela and northern Brazil, and the Wai-wois, 
and their relatives, the Parakutos, of the Brazilian- 
Guiana border district. 

It was these Indians who unquestionably gave Sir 
Walter Raleigh the foundation for his tales of the 
‘‘Amazons.’’ Among both tribes the men wear their 
hair long and confined in a queue, and in both the 
men are rather effeminate in features, whereas the 
women appear quite masculine and wear their hair 
bobbed. No doubt, seeing the long-haired, woman- 
ish-looking warriors, Raleigh mistook them for fe- 
males. To-day the two tribes are confined to a small 
area and comprise but a few hundred members. 

In color these Indians are distinctly yellow, and 
their features are often strikingly Caucasian. As a 
whole, they more nearly resemble the true Caribs 
than do any of the other tribes of the district and, 
like the Caribs, they use tufts of white down fas- 
tened to the hair above the forehead. In physique, 
too, they approach the true Caribs, being much taller 
and better proportioned than the Akawoias and 
other tribes. 

Their houses are, however, quite distinct, being 
very large, often fifty to sixty feet in diameter and 
fifty feet in height, and are circular in form with a 


432 _. THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


conical, peaked roof whose eaves extend nearly to 
the ground. 7 

They make excellent pottery, are master wood- 
carvers, weave coarse cloth and magnificent ham- 4 
mocks and baskets, and are by far the most expert j 
and artistic Peaihornariee of all the tribes. Dur- 


ing festivities, the men are almost hidden under 
feather ornaments. Their crowns are magnificent, | 
with bobs trailing to the ground; feather orna- 
ments are attached to upper arms and shoulders; 
feather tassels dangle from the ears; anklets anil | 
bracelets, as well as the breechcloths and belts, are 
decorated and fringed with feathers; feathers are 
inserted through the septum of Fhe nose; and a 
feather labret hangs from the lower lip, for, like the — 
Caribs, the Arekunas and the Macushis, these tribes 
pierce the lower lip. 
Their weapons are immense, beautifully carved | 
and decorated clubs, Howerfil bows and arrows, — 
lances, javelins, and ‘‘pig stickers.’’ They do not . 
use the blowgun and poisoned darts, but use the 
deadly wurali to poison the long arrows used with 4 
their bows. 
They are expert hunters, but allio onltov te fields — 
and gardens, and they are famed as the makers of — 
the best cassava graters. These articles, which are 
in great demand by the other tribes and form the 
chief article of trade with the Wai-wois, consist of a 
slab of wood coated with a waxlike cement in which j 
are imbedded sharp-pointed bits of hard stone. 
Great patience and skill are required to make these — 
graters and to insert the bits of stone so that all will 
4 
3 
} 


INDIANS OF S80. AMERICAN JUNGLES 433 


project a uniform distance from the surface. The 
board, after being prepared, is dampened and 
warped until slightly convex, thus forcing the points 
of the stone from the cement which, after hardening, 
is water- and weather-proof. To one of these cassava 
graters British Guiana owes the discovery of its 
diamond fields. A scientist, examining such a grater 
to ascertain the identity of the stones used, discov- 
ered that some of them were diamonds. 

Last of these supposedly Carib tribes to be men- 
tioned are the Akurias of the little-known district of 
southern Surinam and British Guiana, and the Panos 
of the far distant valleys of the Amazon tributaries 
in Bolivia. Until visited by the author several years 
ago, the Akurias were unknown to ethnologists. 

They are remarkable in many ways and in several 
respects are wholly distinct from all other known 
tribes. They are the smallest of all South American 
Indians I have met, almost pygmies in fact, the 
men averaging not over five feet in height, while 
the women are often less than four feet and a few 
inches. Their color is also most unusual, being a 
peculiar pinkish yellow, and scarcely darker than a 
Caucasian. Their eyes are straight, noses thin and 
well bridged, cheek bones not prominent, chins well 
_ developed, foreheads broad, lips thin. The men 
have well developed beards and mustaches when 
they allow them to grow. 7 
_ The Akuria houses are much like those of the Wai- 
wois, and within, they are divided by rows of posts 
into a number of compartments, each of which is 
occupied by a separate family. Although each 


434 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


family and individual owns certain articles, such as" 
weapons, cooking utensils, ornaments, hammocks, — 
etc., yet the fields, food, houses, and many other 
things are owned in common. 4 
As woodworkers the Akurias are empettes and. 
their paddles and clubs are most elaborately carved. 
They make fair pottery, weave excellent hammocks, 
are good basket-makers, and are almost as skillful - 
at featherwork as the Wai-wois and Parakutos. 
j 


Like those of the true Caribs, the feather head- 
dresses of the Akurias are fillets of cotton with the - 
feathers standing upright instead of horizontally. — 
Unlike any of the other neighboring tribes, they used 
broad collars or gorgets of feathers. 

Their bows are shorter than those of other tribeal 
but are very powerful, and their arrows are usually — 
feathered. They do not use blowguns, and. theg 
wurali poison is unknown to the tribe. 

Their dialect is very closely related to the Aka-~ 
woia, but in every other respect they are totally dif- ; 
ferent. | } 

Separated from all the other supposedly Carib 
tribes by several thousand miles of forests, rivers, 
and jungles; inhabiting the tropical valleys of the : 
Beni, Santa Cruz, Ucayali, and other tributaries of — 
the Amazon whose sources are in the eastern slopes . 
of the Andes, are the various closely related tribes 
known as the Panos. And yet, remote as these In- 
dians are, and despite the fact that for an immense ~ 
distance no tribes of Carib origin are known to exist, i 
the Panos are distinctly Carib in SPREARBHOS cus- 4 
toms, and dialect. ‘ 


INDIANS OF SO. AMERICAN JUNGLES 435 


In color they are typically Carib yellow. Their 
features, with the strong aquiline or Semitic noses 
and thin lips, are Caribbean. Fully 50 per cent of 
the words in their dialects are unquestionably of 
Carib derivation. They are a well built, stalwart, 
fairly tall race, and are as valiant, proud, and as in- 
domitable fighters as the true Caribs. 

Their houses are square and much resemble those 
of the Caribs. Their weapons, consisting of heavy 
clubs, bows and arrows, are similar; but in addition 
the Panos have adopted the sling so widely used by 
the Andean tribes. They are expert potters, make 
fine baskets, have a good knowledge of textiles, are 
splendid woodworkers, and are extremely fond of 
_ feather decorations. | 

When in full dress the Pano is attired from head 
to knees in bird skins. Upon the head he wears a 
fillet to which are fastened the spread wings of the 
macaw; cured macaw or parrot skins form a mantle 
and a skirtlike garment; and feather ornaments, tas- 
sels, and decorations are everywhere. Like the true 
Caribs, the Pano women wear a one-piece garment 
hanging from the shoulders, this being made of bark 
cloth; and the men wear long shirts or smocks of 
_ bark cloth decorated with painted designs. 

Next in numbers to the tribes of Carib stock are 
those classified as belonging to the Arowak race. 
_ Originally the Arowaks inhabited many of the West 
Indian islands, as well as the adjacent mainland; 
_ but to-day they are confined to the coastal districts 
and lower rivers of northern South America from 


436 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


Brazil to Colombia. Being strictly river and coast 
Indians, the true Arowaks are never found far in the 
interior, although tribes supposed to be of Arowak > 
blood occur far up the Amazon basin. : 
From time immemorial, the Arowaks and Caribs 
have been hereditary enemies, and, in the old days, - 
the Arowaks occupied a very important place on the 
Caribs’ menu. Nevertheless, the Caribs were not 
always the victors, for despite their peaceful, quiet, 
and gentle ways the Arowaks are stout and brave 
fighters when necessity arises. . 
In appearance the two tribes are very distinct. 
The Arowaks are a shorter, stockier, brown-skinned — 
race with good-natured, stolid faces, and broad, — 
rather flat noses and rather thick lips. Their eyes 
are often decidedly oblique and the men seldom have > 
beards, though often wearing a thin straggling mus- 
tache. To-day, practically all of the true Arowaks — 
have become civilized, for the race seems peculiarly 
quick to adopt the whité man’s ways. But, here and 
there, a few may be found who retain tele! SROUSUE SS 4 
customs and mode of life. 
The Arowak house is well built, usually raised — 
above the ground, walled with wattled cane and 
roofed with thatch, and is often divided into rooms — 
by woven palm-leaf partitions. As a rule, the vil- 
lages are placed on the summit of a bare sand hill — 
where the glare and heat are terrific, but they are - 
never far from water, for the true Arowak is almost 
amphibious and cannot exist far from the rivers or 
the seacoast. } 
They are noted for their industry, their thrift, and 

é 

: 


INDIANS OF SO. AMERICAN JUNGLES 437 


honesty and are widely employed as laborers, espe- 
cially as lumbermen, boatsmen, and as household 
servants. Although the Arowaks are fairly good 
hunters and are expert fishermen, yet they are 
primarily agriculturalists and maintain well-tilled 
and productive farms. They are noted as canoe- 
makers, and, alone of all the tribes, use double-bladed 
paddles. 

Their pottery is crude. They make numerous ar- 
ticles of palm fiber, notably hammocks, but do not 
_ use cotton. They do not tattoo, and use paint but 
little, and are not particularly fond of ornaments 
or feathers. Their basketry is far inferior to that 
of the Caribs and other tribes, as are their bows and 
arrows, while their fish spears and harpoons are 
splendidly designed and made. 

They do not use blowguns or poisoned darts, but 
_ employ many poisons for stupefying fish. After the 
_ poison is thrown into the water, the fish float to the 
surface helplessly. These are gathered up by hand 
and any not wanted are returned to the water 
where, in a short time, they recover and seem none 
the worse for their experience. 

In temperament the Arowaks are gentle, good- 
natured, hospitable, anxious to please and are pas- 
_sionately fond of their children and of pets of all 
kinds. 

In the days when the Caribs were cannibals and 
made frequent raids on the neighboring tribes, it 
was their custom to carry off the younger women and 
adopt them into the tribe. These captives, as ex- 
plained in a preceding chapter, retained their own 


438 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


native dialects and taught their language to their 
daughters. As a result, the use of dual dialects 7 
came common among the Caribs, the men using their 
own dialect, the women among themselves using an- 
other ich the men could not as a rule understand 
(a method which might be followed to great ad-— 
vantage by our own womenfolk), while for ordinary 
purposes all spoke Carib. 

Naturally, in time, many words of the didtingm 
tongues came into general use and were embodied 
in the common language. As a result of this, it is. 
now extremely difficult to determine whether a tribe 
is of Carib or Arowak stock or a mixture of the two, 
if dialect is taken as a guide, for in the languages of 
many tribes words of distinct Carib derivation and 
of equally certain Arowak origin occur in almost 
equal numbers. 

Such is the case with the Wapisianas who inhabit — 
the interior savannas far from the original Arowak 
district. In~many ways the Wapisianas and their 
related and neighboring tribes resemble the Caribs 
and yet, in other respects, they are as strongly 
Arowak. Hence it is almost if not quite impossible 
to place many of the hundreds of forest tribes. In 
all probability, nearly all are a mixture of both 
racial stocks, together with blood of totally distinct 
tribes, many of which inhabit the vast, forest-covered 
interiov of the southern continent. 3 

Among these may be mentioned the Jivaros of the 
Putamayo, Javary, and other tributaries of the 
Amazon in Ecuador and Peru, and the Campas and | 
Amuenshas of the Ucayali one neighboring valleys. 


INDIANS OF SO. AMERICAN JUNGLES 439 


The Jivaros, in common with several other tribes, 

are chiefly noted for their custom of preserving and 
shrinking human heads as trophies. These heads, 
which are shrunk to the size of a baseball, always 
arouse a great deal of curiosity, and in the past, 
they found a ready sale as curios. So lucrative be- 
came the business in shrunken heads that the In- 
dians, who normally confined their head-curing to 
the heads of their enemies, became quite careless in 
their discrimination and whenever they saw a prom- 
ising head upon the shoulders of a stranger promptly 
added it to their collections. As a result, the gov- 
ernments of Ecuador and Peru were obliged to pass 
laws prohibiting the sale or possession of the heads. 
Nevertheless, a fair number of the rather gruesome 
trophies find their way out of the Jivaro country. 
Still more are sold which never saw a Jivaro Indian 
and which, for that matter, never topped a human 
being’s neck. These are pure fakes, modeled from 
wax and covered with skin and hair, or even made 
from horse tails with the hairs shaved from a por- 
tion of the hide, the tail being molded into form 
over a clay or wax core. 
_ The process by which the human heads, or for 
that matter entire bodies, are shrunken, is simple; 
but to most persons it seems very mysterious and 
remarkable. 

The bones are first broken by pounding with a 
wooden club and are then removed through the open- 
ing in the neck. The head is then steeped in a tan- 
ning solution and is dried in smoke until thoroughly 
eured. As the skin shrinks and hardens the carti- 


440 THE AMERICAN INDIAN ig 


laginous portions of nose and other features retain 
their form to some extent, and the result is a hard) 
almost black, miniature head. But in nearly every 
case the features are distorted and bear little re- 
semblance to those of life. Heads prepared as 


: 


trophies always have the lips sewed together, the 
Indians believing that if this is not done the spirit 
will curse the head-taker. The hair on these pre-— 
pared heads always appears very thick and long, | 
for of course the hair does not shrink in proportion - 
to the tissues. : ‘q 

Hands and feet, as well as the heads of sloths and P 
other creatures, are preserved in the same manner, 
In the Museum of the American Indian, Heye 
Foundation, in New York, are two entire bodies dried — 
and shrunken to doll-like proportions. In these the 3 
incisions where the bones were removed are plainly 
visible. The bodies appear covered with an almost — 
woolly growth of hair and the finger and toe nails 
seem almost clawlike, owing to the hair and nails 
retaining their natural size while the rest of the 
bodies have been reduced to a fraction of life size. d 

Among the Jivaros and their neighbors the F 
shrunken head of an enemy takes the place of the : 
scalp trophy of our North American Indians, and ; 
farther south among the Amuenshas and their kin, an | 
enemy’s rib is the prized souvenir of victory. These j 
trophies are carved, polished, and used as orna- 
ments on belts and other articles of apparel. : 

‘The Amuensha tribes, known collectively as Chun- . 
chos or wild Indians, are a brownish-yellow race with q 


INDIANS OF SO. AMERICAN JUNGLES 441 


narrow eyes, slightly oblique; high cheek bones; 
straight noses: and they are well built and propor- 
tioned. 

Both sexes wear strange costumes of coarse native 
cotton cloth consisting of long, one-piece sleeveless 
gowns and a peaked hood, the whole so strikingly 
like the costume of a Franciscan monk that in all 
probability the Indians patterned their dress after 
that of the early Spanish priests. In addition to 
these clothes, the Chunchos use crowns of orna- 
mental basketry with two or three upright feathers 
at the rear. Broad bands of black and white seeds 
are slung, bandolier fashion, across their shoulders; 
strings of beads, teeth, seeds, and bright-colored 
feathers and birds’ skins are draped about their 
necks; and girdles of human and other bones are 
about their waists. Their faces are often almost en- 
tirely concealed under painted decorations, but they 

do not tattoo. | 
_ They are excellent basket-makers, good potters, 
fair woodworkers, and weave excellent cotton cloth. 
Much of their life is spent in hunting; but they are 
mainly agricultural. As a whole, they are quiet, 
_ peaceful, and well disposed towards strangers, al- 
though on several occasions they have, with good 
reason, risen in arms and have fought valiantly 
against the Peruvians and others, with dire results 
_ to their enemies. 

_ Jnhabiting the vast forests which cover a large 
portion of northern and central Brazil are innumer- 
able tribes, many of which are unknown to white men, 
while others are but slightly known, and still others 


449 THE AMERICAN INDIAN” th WA 


have been carefully studied. Just what their rola ‘ 
tionships are has never been definitely established ; f 
but large numbers have been included in the sc J 
called Tupi-Guarani race which extends southward 
into Paraguay and Uruguay, while others are re- 
ferred to by the more or less general term of “‘Ges- i 
sans.’’ e 

Among the latter are the Botacudos or Bugres, 
very primitive Indians who use wooden-tipped ar-— 
rows and stone clubs and live almost like beasts. 
Their huts are miserable affairs with openings 
barely large enough to crawl through, and are filthy © 
and vermin infested. The Botacudos are short, 
badly proportioned, dark brown in color, and they 
add to their naturally repulsive appearance by pull. 
ing out their eyebrows and eyelashes and distorting 7 
their ears and lower lips by means of enormous : 
disks of wood often several inches in diameter. _ a 

Among other tribes may be mentioned the Carajas : 
and Cayapos who are noted for their magnificent 7 
and elaborate feather headdresses. and ornaments, 
their finely executed wood carving on paddles and { 
weapons, and their bead aprons or queyus worn by 
the women. a 

In these forests also dwell the saci feared Mun- 
durucus who preserve the heads of their enemies as. 
trophies. These heads are soaked in oils and de- 
coctions of herbs and are then cured in the smoke 
of fires. When prepared they are supplied. with 
artificial eyes, are decorated with feathers, and have 
the tongues and lips sewed together and ornamented 


Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation 


SHRUNKEN HuMAN HEADS, JIvARO INDIANS, ECUADOR 


VAVNYd 
‘ANOLSOD AONV([ ‘NVIGN]T Idavaoog 


: VIAIIOg ‘NVIGN] VAVWIYV nwag ‘NVIGNT VHSNGONY 
4oyynn ay? fiq afy woul shuyuwd wor 


' INDIANS OF SO. AMERICAN JUNGLES 443 


€ 
_ with streamers or tassels of string, probably to pre- 
_ vent the spirits of the heads from cursing their new 
‘ owners. 
Although many of these Brazilian tribes make fine 
3 pottery and are expert featherworkers and wear 
_ gorgeous and elaborate crowns and ornaments, oth- 
_ ers are ignorant of any arts and go absolutely stays 
Some, also, are well advanced in culture, with estab- 
lished governments, large villages, and a complete 
: social organization, while others are still in the stone 
: pace and are utter savages. 
_ Among these are the Makus or Pogsas who are, 
in many respects, strangely like the Bogenahs of 
earn and occupy an analogous position in rela- 
_ tionship with the superior tribes about them. 
The Makus are long headed with heavy projecting 
_ jaws, cunning animal-like eyes, and flat noses. In 
_ color they vary from a light yellow to almost black, 
_and they are regarded with contempt by the sur- 
- rounding tribes who look upon them as mere ani- 
mals. These Makus have no villages and, like the 
_ Bogenahs, are wandering nomads, sleeping upon the 
ground, erecting flimsy leaf shelters, and subsisting 
- upon any game, fish, lizard, bug, or other living crea- 
_ ture which by any Biretdh of the imagination might 
_ be considered food. 
Several authorities have expressed the opinion 
that these miserable savages are the remnants of the 
original prehistoric Americans who were largely de- 
_stroyed or absorbed by more intelligent and power- 
ful migrants from Asia, Europe, and elsewhere. If 
this is so, then, in all probability, the Bogenahs of 


444 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


Panama are also survivors of this autochthonous — 
race, and though separated by thousands of miles 
the Pogsas of Brazil and the Bogenahs of Panama 
may be closely related and of the same primitive — 
stock. There is, indeed, a marvelous similarity in 
their physical characters, their habits, and even in 
their dialects, and, phonetionliy: Pogsa oe Bogenah | 
are enough alike to have beet! derived from the same 
word. . 
Finally, forming a sort of connecting link between 
the jungle dwellers and the Indians of the Pampas 
are the tribes inhabiting the Gran Chaco district of © 
Paraguay bordering on southwestern Brazil and t 
eastern Bolivia. These Indians are, as a rule, tall a 
for South American aborigines, pale yellowish brown _ 
in color, and have well-formed, regular, and often 
pleasing features, many of the women being really ‘ 
handsome and as light as brunet Europeans. J : 
Their bows are crude and, unlike those of most 
South American tribes, their arrows are short and | 
well feathered. Their war clubs are long, slender, — 
and almost swordlike, and are often fitted with pre- 
historic stone ax heads. They produce excellent tex- — 
tiles, make splendid pottery, and are remarkable 
for the great variety and beauty of their feather - 
ornaments and headdresses. In many ways they 
appear to be related to the Quichua-Aimara races 
although their mode of life, their arts, customs, in- 
dustries, and dialects are wholly distinct. : 
Oddly enough these Gran Chaco Indians play a 
game known as Osiuta, which is strikingly like the ’ 


INDIANS OF SO. AMERICAN JUNGLES 445 


lacrosse of our northern Indians. Although the 
rackets used are crudely made, yet their form is 
identical with those used in lacrosse. As far as is 
known, no similar game exists among the tribes be- 
tween the United States and Paraguay, 


CHAPTER XXIII 
INDIANS OF THE ANDES AND PAMPAS 


ERY different from our North American In- ~ 
dians or the tribes inhabiting the tropical — 
jungles of Central and South America are the In- © 
dians of the Andean highlands. Here conditions of — 
life—climate, terrain, vegetation, in fact every fea- — 
ture of environment—are totally distinct from those — 


of our country or of the forest-covered section of — 


South America. And here we find tribes which it is — 

difficult to believe have anything in common with — 
those of other portions of the New World. q 
Here, centuries before Columbus, the great Incan — 
empire was founded and rose to its pinnacle only to — 
be destroyed by the Spaniards. Here, untold ages — 
before the first Inca saw the light of day, a still more — 
ancient civilization flourished and disappeared, and — 
here to-day dwell thousands of Indians, descendants 4 
of the Incas and pre-Incas who, despite four cen- — 
turies of oppression, slavery, poverty, and hopeless- — 
ness, have retained their tribal characteristics, their — 
traditions, their dialects, their habits, and many of — 
their ancient arts. 4 
Broadly speaking, the bulk of the Andean tribes _ 
may be included in two great groups: the Quichuas — 
and the Aimaras. These inhabit the Andes and the © 
446 g 


INDIANS OF THE ANDES AND PAMPAS 447 


trans-Andean highlands from Ecuador to Chile, and 
aie most numerous in Peru and Bolivia. To be sure, 
there are several tribes in Ecuador and northern 
Peru which are not included in these groups. But 
even these came under the rule of the Incan empire, 
and were largely influenced by it, and hence, for all 
practical purposes, they may be considered together 
with the Peruvian and Bolivian Indians. 

In Peru the great bulk of the Indian population is 
Quichua, whereas in Bolivia the Aimara predomi- 
nate. In each case there are numerous subtribes 
which are so much alike that they are scarcely dis- 
tinguishable, and are more names than realities, for 
the Inca régime strove to weld the whole Indian 
population into a common nation and to destroy in- 
_tertribal distinctions. Nevertheless, in the olden 
days these subtribes were quite distinct and, origi- 
nally, were probably separate tribes, each with its 
own physical and other characteristics. To a cer- 
tain extent these characteristics have been inherited 
and perpetuated, so that to-day we find a great 
variation in the features and color of both the 
Quichuas and the Aimaras. And as the Incas en- 
couraged trade, commerce, and industries by forcing 
each district or village to specialize in some certain 
art, so to-day we find the customs, industries, and 
arts varying greatly in neighboring districts. 

As a race, the Quichuas are quiet, gentle, peaceful, 
almost timid, but hard working and industrious and 
able to endure the most terrific hardships and dis- 
comforts. In stature they are well above the 
average of South American Indians and are well 


448. THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


proportioned with exceedingly strong, sinewy lower — 
limbs, as would be expected in a race of moun. — 
taineers. In color they vary from a light olive-yel- | 
low to a fairly dark cinnamon-brown and, ‘living as — 
they do at high altitudes, their cheeks are ruddy, — 
often red as apples, and in the case of children ap- — 
pear ready to burst. In features they vary as 
greatly asin color. Asa rule their features are well a 
formed with straight, often aquiline noses, broad q 
foreheads, firm chins, moderately high cheek bones, — 
straight, well-opened eyes, and a peculiar sad, hope- — 
less sort of expression. But very often they are of 4 
the so-called Inca type with extremely heavy and a 
large beaklike noses. _ eg 

All are civilized, and with few exceptions are, os- 
tensibly at least, Christians. But their civilization 9 
is more that of the Incas than of the Kuropeans, al- — 
though many of their garments have been patterned — 
after those of the earlier Spaniards. . => q 

The most conspicuous and universal garment worn ~ 
by the Indians is the poncho, which, whether woven _ 
of sheep or llama wool or of alpaca or the finest — 
vicua, serves as a blanket, an overcoat, and a rain- a 
coat, and is perhaps the most useful and convenient — 
of all garments for use in the Andes. Aside from a 
the poncho the Quichua man wears short trousers | 
and a jacket of Indian homespun wool, a coarse — 
woolen or cotton shirt, socks of heavy knitted wool, — 
gauntletlike oversleeves of wool, moccasinlike san- q 
dals of rawhide, and a peaked woolen cap with ear — 
flaps. pees . abo lam 
In some sections of the country no other head . 


INDIANS OF THE ANDES AND PAMPAS 449 


covering is worn. Elsewhere a felt hat of Quichua 
make is worn over the cap, and about Cuzco the In- 
dians wear a curious sort of hat typical of the re- 
gion. This consists of a straw or felt disk with a 
hole in the center and it is covered on one side with 
some cheap cotton or woolen cloth and on the other 
with embroidered or decorated velvet. For ordi- 
nary occasions or in bad weather the hat is worn’ 
cheap side up, while in good weather or for holidays 
and fiestas it is reversed and the expensive side is 
uppermost. 

No Quichua man’s costume is complete without 
his sling and his coca pouch. The sling, made of 
braided llama wool, is used both for hunting and for 
driving llamas. When an Indian wishes to use his 
llamas or to round up his alpacas he does not have to 
climb the perpendicular mountain sides on which 
these animals graze. With a few stones and his 
sling the Quichua can drive the herds at a distance 
as readily as though he were beside them. With con- 
summate skill he will hurl the stones beside or be- 
hind the animals, driving them this way or that, 
rounding up stragglers, and never by mistake strik- 
ing one of the creatures. 

_ He is equally skillful in using the Biblical weapon 
for bringing down wild game. With the sling the 
Andean Indian will knock over a running vicufia or 
a scurrying chinchilla, and he seldom makes use of 
_ any other weapon. : 

_ The coca pouch is even’ more important than the 
sling to the Andean Indian. Within this ornamental 
leather wallet he carries the dried coca leaves and 


450 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


the bit of lime which are his food, drink, stimulant, 
and sustaining power on his long and arduous 
mountain journeys. By chewing coca the Indian re- | 
sists hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and will go for in-_ 
credible distances withous food or rest. The leaf is 
masticated together with a bit of lime or ash, the | 


alkali of the latter acting chemically upon the leaf 
and producing a small amount of cocaine. Although — 
universally used by all Andean men, women, and . 
children, the drug seems to have no ill effects and is | 
never used as a narcotic. 

The costume of the Quichua woman is as pic-— 
turesque, as colorful, and as unsanitary as it is pos- — 
sible to imagine. The upper garment is a tight-— 
fitting waist of the brightest colored woolen cloth 
over the sleeves of which are drawn long cuffs of in- 
tricately embroidered velvet. Over the shoulders 
is worn a bright colored, miniature poncho; a flam- 
ing decorated kerchief is knotted about the neck; 
and a stiff, heavy felt hat covers the head. From the 
waist hang countless: petticoats reaching to the 
ankles, each of heavy wool and each of the most 
Teer colors. Never does the Andean Indian — 
woman dream of removing a skirt for the purpose 
of having it cleaned. Once put on they remain until - 
ready to drop apart, and as the undermost skirt is, — 
from sheer necessity, discarded, another is added — 
on the outside so that the total number remains con- © 
stant. 4 

In different sections and among ‘different ah i 
tribes the costumes’ vary slightly, and the Cuzco 
women wear dark-colored embroidered overskirts — 


~ ee eae ee ee ee a ee a ee ee a a 


INDIANS OF THE ANDES AND PAMPAS 451 


and blouses, with hats whose brims are fringed and 
decorated; but throughout the Andes the volumi- 
nous, multiple petticoats are universal. | 
When carrying a burden or a baby, the Quichua 
woman knots a strip of woolen cloth about her throat, 
and in the pouchlike folds at the back carries her 
load. How she can breathe as she toils at a dogtrot 
over the Andean trails with her entire burden sup- 
ported by her throat is a mystery. So accustomed 
are the Indian women to this that they feel lost and 
uncomfortable without a load, and if there are no 
youngsters to be carried, which seldom happens, 
they will pick up a stone or log of wood and carry it. 
The Quichua woman is the most industrious of 
females. No matter where she is or what she may 
be doing, whether walking, standing, sitting; 
whether trudging to market bending under a heavy 
burden, or homeward bound with her babies on her 
back; whether gossiping with a friend or squatted 
by her wares in the market place, she is constantly, 
endlessly, forever spinning wool into thread like an 
inexorable fate. We cannot wonder at this when 
we stop to realize that wool and its products, whether 
it be of the sheep, the lama, or the alpaca, are not 
only the most valuable but the most essential items 
in the Quichuas’ lives. All their garments, their 
_ blankets, their ponchos, their saddle-bags, their pack 
_ saddles, their slings, their ropes, their bridles are 
woven on primitive looms from wool carded, cleaned, 
and spun by themselves. Their textiles are the most 
_ valuable and salable articles they produce. Mar- 


452 THE AMERICAN INDIAN - 


velous are the results these Indians produce with 
the crudest of appliances. Mats, rugs, robes, scarfs, ’ 
belts, cloth so finely woven that it seems incredible 
that it is made by hand; rugs as heavy, soft, and as 
artistically designed as any product of the Navajos; — 


scarfs of vicufia as fine as silk and almost as soft; 


shawls of alpaca; and even entire carpets are pro- 
duced by these mountain Indians and bring high 
prices in the shops and markets of the large cities. 
In addition to their textiles, the Quichuas make — 
quantities of excellent pottery; wonderful rawhide ~ 
bridles, reins, etc.; felt hats, shoes; woolen stock- 


ings, gloves, socks, and mittens; splendid carved — 


woodenware; ornamental leather articles; fur. robes — 
and garments; dolls and toys; lace and embroidery; 


and many other articles. 
Oddly enough, each article or class of ee will 


be the product of one small village or district, and it — 


is not unusual to find a village whose inhabitants 
are all engaged in weaving rugs while, close at hand, 


will be another village whose sole occupation is weav- 
ing ponchos. Often one village will produce woolen | 
yarn while another not far away will be composed | 


entirely of wool carders. In each case the people — 


of one village will exchange its By sess: for those — 
of its neighbors. 


This condition was brought about in the old Tnea | 
days, and it has resulted in an interchange of ideas, ; 
a commercial and tribal solidarity which otherwise — 
could not have existed. If one community produced — 
all necessary and essential articles, the race would — 
have become broken up into innumerable cliques or — 


INDIANS OF THE ANDES AND PAMPAS 453 


separate communities with no interchange of ideas 
and no progressiveness. But with each producing 
only certain articles, and being therefore compelled 
to depend upon others for the essentials they do not 
produce, trade and commerce and a mingling of the 
villagers have been brought about. 

At the weekly markets the Indians from far and 
near gather, sometimes ten thousand Indians visit- 
ing a market at one time; and here goods are bar- 
tered, news and gossip are spread, ideas are ex- 
changed, and a gloriously good time is had by all. 
Indeed, these weekly markets, and an occasional 
fiesta, are the only bright spots in the dull, monoto- 
nous, and dreary lives of these Andean Indians. 

How they live as they do, undergoing the hard- 
ships to which they are constantly exposed, and still 
remain cheerful and happy is a mystery. Dwelling 
in the rarefied air of two to four miles above the sea, 
in a sterile, hard-bitten land swept by cold, ice-filled 
_ winds, subsisting on next to nothing, and compelled 
to toil unremittingly for the barest necessities of 
_ life, the very existence of these Indians is a con- 
stant struggle against terrific odds. Their homes 
are mere huts of stones or adobe, their beds llama 
skins, their fuel llama dung or the yaretta plant, and 

their principal food frozen potatoes. 

Those who dwell in the Andean valleys are a trifle 
_ better off. There the earth can be tilled, by dint of 
- Herculean labor, and wheat and other crops may be 
grown; the climate is not so inclement; there are 
plenty of eucalyptus trees for fuel and other pur- 


454 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


poses; and such articles as the Indians produce may 
be taken to market without tramping for days over 
fearful mountain trails. 
But wherever he may be, the Andean Indian’s: 
plight is pitiable. He is exploited and cheated — 
every turn; if employed in the mines or elsewhere 
he is paid a mere pittance and is cursed, kicked, and 
treated like a beast. He has no rights and can | 
scarcely call his soul his own. Any passing stran- 
ger who wishes food or shelter may help himself | 
to the Indian’s stock, and, turning the Indian and 
his family out of doors, may take possession of his 
home. His women are violated, his goods stolen, 
his hard-earned money filched by merchants, poli- 
ticlans, prospectors, soldiers, priests, and AYELY | 
Tom, Dick, and Harry. : 
It is little wonder that the Indians wear that hope- 
less, pathetic expression on their faces. Yet they 
are neither sad nor hopeless. In his way, the An- 
dean Indian enjoys life. He is intensely musical 
and for hours will play plaintive ancient Incan tunes 
upon his reed flute or quefia. He loves pictures and 
has a highly developed sense of art, and he is pas- 
sionately fond of his wife and his children. Seldom 
does he go to market that he does not bring back 
some present for his woman and his kiddies—a bit 
of bright ribbon, a cheap ring, a tiny mirror, or. 
some other trifle. | 
But, by nature, by heritage, and through environ- 
ment ap has developed a peculiar taste for the sad | 
and morbid. He will stand for hours, gazing at a 
picture of a battle, a fire, or the martyrdom of a 


a ee ne ee 


INDIANS OF THE ANDES AND PAMPAS 455’ 


saint; and he will listen entranced to the saddest,’ 
most plaintive and heart-rending music. 

He is neither cruel, treacherous, nor dishonest by 
nature, and he is inordinately attached to his live 
stock, especially his llamas. To these Indians, the 
llamas are the most important and essential of all 
things. Like the reindeer of the Laplander, they 
supply their owners with every need. They 
are the Indian’s beasts of burden, their wool pro- 
vides him with clothing, ponchos, rope, blankets, and 
cloth; their hides are his bed and his footwear; 
their meat is his only animal food; and their dung is 
his fuel. He regards them almost as members of 
his family, he treats them with care akin to ven- 
eration, and decorates their ears with bright ribbons 
and bells, and when one of the creatures dies he 
weeps and is inconsolable. 

A very different type is the Aimara whose race 
_ was also of the Incan empire. Although living side 
_ by side, occupying the same territory and mingling 
amicably, yet the Quichuas and the Aimaras are as 
distinct in dialects, characteristics, temperament, 
and appearance as though separated by a continent. 
In Peru the Quichua race is predominant with few 
of the Aimara; whereas in Bolivia the Indian popu- 
lation is more Aimara than Quichua, and in many 
sections no Quichuas are to be found. 

Unlike the docile, subservient Quichua, the 
Aimara is haughty, quick tempered, pugnacious, 
and ever ready to meet trouble halfway. He aver- 
_ ages a trifle lighter in color than the Quichua, being 
more of a yellow than brown, his eyes are often 


456 THE AMBRIVAN INDIAN ; 


oblique, his cheek bones prominent, his nose aqui- 
line, and his lips thin and often cruel. Like the 
Quichua he is stockily and powerfully built with 
muscular legs adapted to mountaineering; he is a 
marvel of endurance; and he is as inveterate a coca 
chewer as his Quichua neighbor. aq 

There is a vast difference in the expressions on 
the faces of the two tribes. The Aimaras’ faces are 
proud, cold, even contemptuous; but through a herit- | 
age of oppression, slavery, and tyranny they have 
become subdued and submit to almost as many 
abuses and discriminations as their Quichua neigh- 
bors. | 
As they predominate in numbers in Bolivia, and 
are the mainstay of the republic, they are far better 
off than the Peruvian Indians. Like the Quichuas, 
they are clever artisans and produce an unlimited 
variety of magnificent textiles; they are excellent 
potters, skilled metal-workers, splendid basket 
makers, expert wood-carvers, good agriculturalists, — 
hard-working and industrious laborers, and are born 
musicians. | 

Like the Quichuas, too, they are specialists, and 
each village or town will be noted for some particu- 
lar art or product. But whereas the Quichuas dwell 
in tiny Indian villages or scattered houses, the 
Aimaras have large, populous, and well-built towns, 
for, as I have said, fully 90 per cent of the inhabit- 
ants of Bolivia are Indians and such towns as 
Cochabama, Oruro, and even the capital, La Paz, | 
are largely Indian. Consequently the Aimara race 
is represented in every walk in life. Politicians, - 


at Pile 


ee et Se eee ee ee eee 


INDIANS OF THE ANDES AND PAMPAS 457 


high officials, doctors, lawyers, priests, generals, 
_ tradesmen, laborers, and servants may be found 
among their ranks. 

Tribal distinctions are more closely drawn among 
_ the Aimaras than among the Quichuas and while, in 
many ways, the Aimaras have adopted more of the 
Kuropean ways and civilization, yet their tribal cus- 
toms and traditions are better preserved than among 
the Quichuas. Like the latter, the men wear the 
inevitable poncho and heavy woolen garments, while 
the women wear the same innumerable filthy petti- 
coats and carry their burdens and their babies as do 
the Quichua women. But their fiesta costumes are 
glorious and wonderful; feather crowns and head- 
dresses are used, their dance costumes are mar- 
velous with their wealth of embroidery and silver 
decorations, and their dance masks are most gro- 
tesque and horrible, typically Indian and wonder- 
fully well made. 

Like those of the Coclés of Panama, the Aimara 
and also the Quichua dances and ceremonials have 
been combined with feast days of the Roman Catho- 
lic Church, and there is a strange commingling of 
Christian and pagan ceremonies, costumes, and pag- 
eantry at these fiestas. But the truly Indian devil 
dance is the predominating feature. 

Unlike the Quichua, who is fully satisfied if he 
possesses a serviceable and preferably bright colored 
_ poncho while his wife boasts a dozen or more dirty 
skirts and a gaudy manta, the Aimaras, and espe- 
cially the women, are fond of fine raiment. A high- 
class Cholo girl on a Sunday or holiday is attired ina 


458 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


manner that would make Solomon turn in his grave 
with envy and which represents her savings for many 
months. Upon her head she wears a shining glazed 
hat which is a cross between a derby and a trench 
helmet; her shoes, of the finest leather and highly | 
ornamented with fancy stitching, reach almost to her 
knees; her skirt and waist are of rainbow hues; and | 
she carries a man-sized burden in the shape of gold 
and silver chains, ornaments, and jingling coins. | | 
The fiesta attire of the Aimara man is as mag-- 
nificent and as costly as that of his mate. His lower i 
limbs are encased in short trousers completely cov-— 
ered with embroidery in silver plates and tinsel; his — 
shoes are adorned with silver buckles, his coat is ; 
heavy with bullion; his poncho is a priceless work © 
of art; and his head piece is adorned with nodding — 
plumes and silver ornaments. 
Indeed, the Aimara appears to live and labor for _ 
the sole purpose of dressing. He is not fastidious © 
about his food and subsists on the coarsest fare, and © 
his home as a rule is absolutely bare of all the lux-_ 
uries and most of the necessities of life. No matter 4 
how poverty-stricken he appears to be, no. matter 
how he may toil and endure and suffer, yet somehow, , 
when occasion arises, he will manage to emerge from ~ 
his poverty and squalor like a butterfly from its — 
chrysalis in all the glory and richness of barbaric 4 
splendor. ek 
In addition to the Quichuas and Aimaras, the An- 
dean Indians of Bolivia comprise another and quite — 
distinct race consisting of several tribes known col- 4 
lectively as the Yungas. The Yungas dwell in the 


INDIANS OF THE ANDES AND PAMPAS 459 


region east of La Paz and Lake Titicaca, a trans- 
_ Andean plateau with a milder climate and better soil 
than the mountainous regions, and the district which 
produces the bulk of the coca leaves. 

In color the Yungas are copper-brown with a red- 
dish cast. Their heads are large, their jaws promi- 
nent, their foreheads narrow, their noses rather flat, 
and their eyes oblique. They are a short, stocky, 
race far more primitive than the Quichuas or 
Aimaras and are by no means as cowed, subservient, 
or oppressed as these others. 

Although excellent as laborers yet they prefer to 
be independent and have their own villages, fields, 
and farms, their own chiefs and tribal organiza- 
tions, and retain nearly all their ancestral traits, 
customs, and habits. They use bows and arrows, 
slings and clubs, and have the reputation of being 
rather warlike and valiant fighters. They are ex- 
cellent potters and woodworkers and are, like all the 
Andean tribes, experts at weaving textiles. Their 
ponchos are particularly fine and of the most intri- 
cate and colorful patterns, and much of their home- 
spun cloth might be mistaken for the best of English 
tweeds. 

Although they frequently visit La Paz and other 
cities, they are seldom seen singly, but move about 
in groups of five to a dozen individuals, each group 
in charge of a chief or subchief. They trot along in 
single file to stop, now and again, and gaze at some 
new and to them astonishing object or sight while 
the chief in charge gives a brief lecture or explana- 
tion. As these chiefs are supposed to know every- 


460 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


thing and it would never do to be at a loss, they are 1 


often in a tight place when they encounter some en- 


tirely new thing. But as they are ready witted, and 


as their fellows will believe anything they say, ey 
are seldom stumped for an answer. 


On one occasion I saw a group of Yungas cave | 
half fearfully at the first automobile they had ever — 
seen. To them there was nothing very remarkable 
in the machine for, like nearly all Indians, they feel — 
that the white man can make anything; but the mo- — 


tive power was a puzzle and their leader was called 


upon to explain what made it go. The chief had — 
never before seen an automobile and was as ignorant — 
of the mechanism as his fellows; but he did not hesi- 
tate and replied instantly that the white men had a — 


devil chained inside the car. The Indians were per- 


fectly satisfied, for to them an enslaved devil was a ! 
far more plausible and comprehensible thing than — 


an engine. 
Leaving the bleak and snow-clad heights of the 
Andes and going farther south, we find Indians of a 


very different type who are an ethnological puzzle — 


and remind us in many ways of our plains Indians. 
These are the so-called Araucanians of Chile and 
the Argentine, a race made famous in song and 
story, and about which a vast amount of misinforma- 
tion has been circulated. | 

Indeed, the term Araucanian is a misnomer, for 
strictly speaking, there is no such race or tribe as the 


Araucanian. The name was coined by the Spanish — 


poet, Ercilla, who in his epic poem, ‘‘La Araucana’’ 


(The Araucanian), perpetuated the victory of the 


I’hotographs by the author 


WoopDEN FETISHES OR PROXIES, PANAMA INDIANS 


QUICHUA INDIANS 


, UEZCD, PERU 


by the autnor 
PAN 


ite 
OMAN 


from Ut 


Ungs 


t 


From pain 


, PERU 
CHILE 


? 


QuIcHUA WoMAN 
MAPUCHE MAN 


AMA 


> 


-TOWALI W 


PI 
MaApucHE WoMAN, CHILE 


Tu 


a 


; 


4 
% 
ay 


INDIANS OF THE ANDES AND PAMPAS 461 


Chilean Indians over the Spaniards under Valdivia, 


_and for the sake of rhythm applied the name of a 


i ae aie Ns 


district to its inhabitants. 

The Indians themselves never refer to their race 
or tribes as Araucanians, and neither do the Chile- 
ans, but instead use the terms Mapuches, Pehuen- 
ches, Huilliches, Tuelches, ete., according to the tribe 
referred to. Neither must we confuse these so-called 
Araucanians with the Indians of southernmost Chile 
and Tierra del Fuego—the Onas, Yahgans, etc., who 
are a far inferior people of entirely distinct charac- 
ters, customs, dialect, and racial stock, although in 
Patagonia there has been so much intermingling of 
tribes that the characteristics have become mixed 
and confused. 

The true Indian of Tierra del Fuego and the adja- 
cent coast is a dark-skinned, large-mouthed, thick- 
lipped, flat-nosed, and most inferior and primitive 
being, possessing a few arts and no approach to a 
culture or civilization. A naked, miserable savage, 
subsisting on fish and molluscs, clothing himself in 


the skins of wild animals, using arrows with tips of 


chipped stone or glass and spears and harpoons of 


__ bone, and sheltering himself against sleet, snow and 
_ biting winds by a tiny, kennel-like hovel of branches 
~ and leaves. 


The Tuelche of Patagonia is a far superior man. 


He is tall, well built, intelligent, and proud, a splen- 
did hunter, and has developed many arts and crafts. 


But he is still far behind the more northerly Mapu- 


_ ches in every respect. 


_ Of all the South American tribes the Mapuches of 


462. THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


central and southern Chile and the Argentine are by _ 
far the most progressive, the most self-reliant, the ; 
most industrious, and the most independent. Never — 
have they been conquered or subdued and, time and .. 
time again, they have shown themselves the su- — 
periors of the trained soldiers of Europe. These are — 
the Indians who have become famed as the Arau- — 
canians and who to-day number nearly a quarter of — 
a million and still live their ancestral lives on their 
ancestral lands. “a 

In appearance many of the Mapuches are indis- — 
tinguishable from Caucasians, and all are strikingly 
distinct from any other South American tribe. They — 
are a dark olive or yellowish in color with a slightly — 
ruddy tint, and have pink cheeks. Their faces are — 
oval, their cheek bones neither prominent nor un- — 
usually high, their foreheads broad and high, their — 
eyes full, intelligent, and straight, their noses large, — 
well bridged, and straight or slightly aquiline, their — 
chins firm. The men have beards and mustaches — 
which are nowadays allowed to grow, although in — 
former times they were carefully shaved off and no — 
hair was permitted to appear on the faces or bodies — 
of men or women. In stature the Mapuches are well — 
above the average South American Indian and many ~ 
of the men are six feet in height and are magnifi- — 
cently proportioned. The expression is intelligent, — 
good-natured, and dignified. Many of the younger — 
women and girls are strikingly pretty. Primarily — 
the Mapuches are an agricultural race and cultivate — 
large areas of wheat and other crops and own hun- — 
dreds of thousands of sheep, cattle, and horses. — 


INDIANS OF THE ANDES AND PAMPAS 463 


They are essentially horse Indians and magnificent 
horsemen, although to-day many own automobiles 
and till their fields with motor tractors in place of 
plodding oxen. 

Although still adhering to their primitive tribal 
customs, life, and habits in many ways, yet the 
Mapuches are thoroughly up to date in other re- ; 
spects. Many of their young men are graduates of 
colleges in Kurope and the United States, all speak 
Spanish, and some English as well. They have taken 
advantage of innumerable luxuries and labor-saving 
devices of civilization. 

Although the majority of the tribe still dwell in 
the typical Mapuche houses or rukas of brush and 
thatch, a great many have erected well-built frame 
houses with galvanized iron roofs. But whether the 
Mapuche home is a ruka of brush or a modern house, 
the interior is much the same. Upon the earthen 
floor are the smoldering fires, for several related 
families usually occupy one dwelling. From smoke- 
blackened beams and rafters hang finely woven bas- 
kets; rawhide bags; pouches made from the skin of 
colt or calf’s heads; potlike containers formed from 
the skin of cows’ udders with the teats serving as 
legs; heads of wheat; bunches of corn; bundles of 
herbs; rawhide lariats, bolas, and bridles; silver- 
mounted saddles; and other household utensils. 

Along the sides of the house are the low beds or 
couches covered with soft, heavy blankets, chupimas 
or rugs, and soft skins of vicufla and guanaco. Rest- 
ing against a wall or standing upright in the floor are 
the long bamboo-shafted Mapuche lances, and hung 


464 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


to pegs are the gleaming silver ornaments of the — 
women. Low stools of carved wood are about the — 
floor; ponchos, scarfs, and other articles of apparel 7 
are scattered about; and most prominent of all, and © 
occupying a large portion of the interior of the © 
dwelling, is a huge primitive loom at which a woman — 
sits forever weaving the dyed woolen yarns into : 
wonderful blankets, ponchos, and rugs. 4 

The Mapuche textiles are one-of their most impor- — 
tant products. Not only do their rugs, blankets, and — 
ponchos find a ready sale, a good poncho often bring- — 
ing thirty dollars or more; but in addition, every . 
garment and article of apparel is hand woven by the q 
Mapuche women. q 

The costume of the Mapuche man consists of a — 
coarse woolen shirt or blouse, a broad strip of woolen — 
cloth drawn about the legs so as to form the original — 
gaucho trousers; a broad, silver-studded belt or a — 
woolen sash; rawhide sandals, and a poncho. Upon — 
the head a square of bright-colored silk or wool is — 
worn turbanwise, or a soft felt hat may be used. 4 

The woman’s costume is quite distinctive and — 
most becoming. The upper portion of the body is © 
covered with a finely woven strip of cloth so worn — 
as to form a tight waist leaving the arms bare to — 
the shoulders. Another square of cloth, tasseled at — 
the corners and often bordered with a woven orna- — 
mental design, is wrapped about the waist and forms ~ 
a close-fitting skirt reaching to the ankles. Over the — 
shoulders is thrown a beautiful soft shawl of finest — 
wool or guanaco hair. 

Holding the blouse in place over the Hiraleee are — 


INDIANS OF THE ANDES AND PAMPAS 465 


enormous silver pins with huge, intricately fashioned 
heads; about the throat is a silver band or collar; the 
hair is bound by a leather fillet studded with silver ; 
immense silver earrings hang from the ears, and 
covering the chest is a wonderfully wrought silver 
pendant often weighing several pounds. 

_ As silver-workers the Mapuches are unequaled 
among Indians, and the only tribe comparable to 
them in this art are our Navajos. Practically all 
their spare money, and a great deal which they can- 
not spare, is transformed into ornaments for their 
women, silver mountings for bridles, stirrups, and 
saddles, silver spurs, and other articles of the 
precious metal. The value, in bullion alone, of the 
ornaments owned by a Mapuche woman will often 
run into thousands of dollars, and many a Mapuche 
belle possesses more silver jewelry than she could 
possibly carry at one time. 

The Mapuches also make excellent pottery, beau- 
tiful baskets, and elaborate beadwork, and they are 
experts at wood-carving, at rawhide and horsehair 
work. From the latter material they fashion brace- 
lets and rings of intricate patterns so fine that the 
weaving is almost invisible. Their weapons are 
bows and arrows, long, bamboo-shafted, steel-headed 
lances, lassos, and bolas. They are marvelously 
skillful with the latter and use it in hunting the 
guanaco, the South American ostrich, and other 
game. 

The Mapuche villages consist of from two to a 
dozen or more houses, often quite widely separated, 
and inclosed by brush fences. In every village, and 


466 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


often near every house, is a heavy timber from eight — 
to twelve feet in length and set upright at a slight — 
angle in the earth. On one side a series of notches _ 
are cut for steps and very often it is carved into a — 
rude human figure. Beside this are fastened dead — 
saplings, and hung to the branches of these, are rib- 1 
bons, bits of cloth, utensils, small pottery vessels, — 


etc. 2 


These are the machi or medicine posts or Mapuche ~ 
altars where offerings are made to the Indians’ gods _ 
who are supposed to speak through the medium of — 
the machi or medicine man. But, strangely enough, . 
the medicine man of the Mapuches is almost always — 
a woman. Among these Indians the machi holds a — 
most peculiar position. Although she must not — 
marry, she may have children, and quite often one 


of these medicine women will be seen industriously _ 
weaving a poncho or rug in her ruka and surrounded ~ 


by a brood of youngsters. As innumerable presents — 


and contributions are made to her, aside from those 


which she demands or receives in payment for her — 
services, she is usually well off and has no trouble in ~ 
supporting her offspring in Mapuche luxury. 1 

At ordinary times she is not regarded with any — 
particular respect or superstition, although she has — 
no little power in councils and similar matters. Her q 
duties are primarily those of a doctor and midwife, — 
and as these machis possess a good knowledge of — 
medicinal herbs, and are expert osteopaths and chiro- — 
practors, their treatments are usually successful and — 
quite often they effect truly remarkable cures. In- — 


INDIANS OF THE ANDES AND PAMPAS 467 


deed, they are often called upon by the white inhabit- 
ants of the country in times of necessity. 

In connection with their practices they use a great 
deal of the hocus-pocus and ostensibly supernatural 
and magical which are so dear to the Indian. Chief 
among these are the use of the machi pipe or medi- 
cine pipe and its smoke; trances and visions; and 
the machis’ supposed power of being able to see and 
converse with spirits. 

Like many of our northern Indians, the Mapuches 
regard many animals and inanimate objects as 
sacred or the abiding places of spirits. Whenever 
a Mapuche kills a creature which is supposedly the 
temporary abode of a spirit, he makes prayers and 
offerings and apologizes for the deed in order to 
placate the spirit. His most sacred object is the 
algorrobo tree. No Mapuche may cut, injure or 
destroy these trees except for some sacred, religious, 
or ceremonial purpose, and even then the act is car- 
ried out with ceremonies and offerings. 

The dead are buried in troughlike coffins of the 
sacred wood and the body is surrounded by the 
weapons, utensils, ornaments, and other possessions 
of the deceased, together with his favorite horse and 
dog and a supply of food and drink. Over the grave 
is erected a wooden monument which may be carved 
to represent a human figure, a bird, or beast, or some 
conventional design. Very often these are in the 
form of crosses, which have no connection with the 
emblem of Christianity and were in use by these 
Indians ages before the first Europeans entered 
Chile. 


468 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


When the Spanish priests first met the Mapuches — 
and found the crosses over the Indians’ graves, they — 
were ina quandary. Although the monuments were : 
those of pagans, yet they were also the symbols of — 
the Christian faith, and hence, to destroy them, ~ 
would, the padres felt, be sacrilege. Finally the mat- — 
ter was settled by the priests’ blessing the Mapuche ~ 
crosses and sprinkling them with holy water, and — 
every one was satisfied. q 

In their home and tribal life the Maewahebi.t are | 
rather patriarchal. Each tiny settlement or village © 
has its head man or local governor, who is usually © 
the oldest member of the community. Over these — 
is a chief who administers the laws and affairs of a — 
considerable district, while over all is the head chief — 
or cacique of the tribe. The various chiefs, however, — 
have little power in the case of really important ~ 
matters. All such are settled by council and vote, — 
and even the village patriarchs seldom make a deci- — 
sion of importance without consulting the villagers — 
and the local machi, and discussing the matter at — 
length. 4 
The Mapuches are nuted for their rineere aid 4 
morality, and a Mapuche’s word is considered as — 
good as his bond by the Chilean money-lenders and ~ 
merchants, who will lend any sum within reason toa 
Mapuche on the Indian’s verbal promise and state- — 
ment as to the value of his crops or herds. In tem- — 
perament they are good-natured, light-hearted, hos- — 
pitable, and possess a keen sense of humor. | 

On one occasion I was traveling through the In- — 
dian country in a battered Ford, and noticing a ~ 


INDIANS OF THE ANDES AND PAMPAS 469 


stout, elderly Indian tending a flock of sheep, I 
‘stopped and inquired the way to the house of a 
chief whom I wished to see. The old fellow called 
a boy to look after his flock, and crowding his bulk 
into the seat beside the chauffeur, stated he would 
show the driver the road. He had never before been 
in a motor car and shouted and urged the ear on, 
lashing its sides with his whip as he would a horse. 

As we neared the village, the chauffeur slowed 
down and stopped as he saw a good-sized log across 
the trail. This was not at all to the Indian’s liking, 
and he stated contemptuously that ‘‘even a colt could 
jump that log.’’ The Chilean driver was not to be 
scoffed at by any Mapuche, and stepping on the gas, 
he rushed the car at the log and hurdled it, greatly 
to the Indian’s delight. 

Arriving at last at the ruka we sought, which 
_ proved to be the home of our corpulent passenger 
who was in fact the chief himself, the old fellow 
_extricated himself from the narrow seat and care-_ 
fully examined the battered machine from end to 
end, feeling of its sides and wheels, patting its 
dented mudguards, and peering into the radiator 
much as he would examine a horse. ‘‘Now I suppose 
you’ll get an automobile,’’ I remarked. 

The chief shook his head. ‘‘No,’’ he replied. 
“Such things are good for the white man but not 
for the Mapuches. A horse eats the grass which 
_ grows everywhere and if he breaks a leg there is al- 
_ ways a colt to take his place. But this thing has no 
colts, and even the white man has not yet learned to 
plant the gasoline and make it grow.”? 


470. THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


It cannot be said that the Mapuches are musical. 
A few have phonographs, and I have seen one or two 
Mapuche houses equipped with radio antennez. Their 
native music consists of monotonous rhythms played 
on drums and flutes. These rhythms serve merely to 
beat time for the ceremonial chants and dances, 
which are neither as frequent nor as impressive as" 
those of most Indians. 3 

In their ceremonial dances the Mapuches use 
masks, crudely made of wood or even of turtle shells” 
pierced with holes for eyes, nose, and mouth, the 
object of the masks being to prevent lurking evil — 
spirits from recognizing the dancers and entering — 
them. The dances are slow, dignified, and orderly, — 
with none of the shouting, excitement, and savage — 
accompaniments usually associated with Indian — 
dances. : : j 

But what the Mapuches lack in the way of dances — 
is more than offset by their variety of games. One 
of the most popular of these is a form of the old 
ring around a rosy, and another is very similar to 
our old-fashioned come away. There are also in- 
numerable games, often used for gambling, in which — 
round pebbles or clay balls are dropped into holes — 
in a wooden tablet or through rings. Games similar 
to our marbles are played, as well as jackstones. 

The truly national game is the chueca. This game, — 
which is the original of our hockey or shinny, was — 
played by the Indians long before the advent of the - 
white men and was copied from the Indians and later — 
introduced into Hurope. It is known to practically 
every North American tribe, but does not appear to 


INDIANS OF THE ANDES AND PAMPAS 471 


be known to the tribes of Mexico, Central, or north- 
ern South America. But here, among the Mapuches 
of southern Chile, the old familiar shinny bobs up 
once more, and, under the Indian name of chueca, is 
played exactly as it has been played by white boys 
for generations. 

Like all Indians, the Mapuches are fond of folk- 
lore, and are rich in legends and myths. Several 
of their stories are strikingly similar to those of our 
North American tribes. Thus, the story of the 
origin of the bolas, is, in its main features, almost 
identical with the Kwakiutl story of the sword 
(Chapter XX). 

According to the Mapuche legend, the first In- 
dian was constantly harassed by a gigantic puma 
who was possessed of a most malignant and clever 
devil. When the Indian went to the river to drink, 
the puma lurked near and sprang at him. If he 
_ hunted and killed game the puma always seized the 
_ creature and devoured it, and wherever the Indian 
_ went the puma followed him relentlessly and sought 
_ to destroy him. Many times the Indian tried to hunt 
down and kill his enemy, but the puma was too wise 
and would never enter a trap and would never let 
the Indian come within striking distance with his 
_ club or his lance. 

Finally the Indian was forced to seek refuge on a 
_ steep hill where he could keep a sharp lookout on 
_ every side. He dared not sleep, and he sat there, 
_ unable to secure food or water and awaiting death 
_ by starvation or the devil-infested creature. 

Suddenly there was a terrific noise, smoke and 


479 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


fire burst from the hillside, and a fissure opened — 
in the rock. From this opening came forth an algor- 
robo tree, and a voice spoke telling the Indian to 
plant seeds from the tree and he would never want : 
for food. But the Mapuche saw no use in having ~ 
food as long as his enemy the puma lived, and so he 
remained silent and motionless. ] 

Then the voice spoke again and said that if the — 
Mapuche made a club of the branch of the tree he © 
could kill the puma. But the Indian knew he could — 
never get near enough to the beast to use oie club, © 
so he paid no heed. q 

Finally the voice said that if he would inate med- — 
icine to the tree and would never injure it nor per- — 
mit his people to injure it he would be shown a way — 
to destroy his enemy. So the Mapuche made medi- 
cine to the tree and promised to hold it sacred, and — 
a bolas was given him by the tree spirit. 4 

So he took the bolas and made a club of the tree — 
branch, and gathered the seeds, and went down from — 
the hill to meet the puma. The puma, seeing the 
Indian armed with the club, kept out of reach of the — 
weapon, but the Indian whirled the bolas and threw — 
it. The bolas entangled the puma so he could not — 
run, and the Mapuche killed him with his magic club — 
and made an offering of the puma’s skin to ice algor--— 
robo tree. 

Then he planted the magic seeds, and from thesb 4 
grew crops which never failed and which have al- — 
ways provided the Mapuches with food, and to this — 
day the Mapuches use the bolas and hold the algor- — 
robo sacred. Perhaps the Mapuches are related to 


INDIANS OF THE ANDES AND PAMPAS 473 


our North American Indians. Possibly, countless 
ages ago, their ancestors dwelt in North America, 
and, for some reason, wandered southward. 
Through years they may have slowly migrated 
through Mexico and Central America, fighting their 
way through hostile tribes, facing the perils of tropi- 
cal jungles and deserts, finding no suitable spot 
wherein to settle down, until at last, in the far south, 
they came upon a land much like that they had left 
and, weary with moving, barred from further prog- 
ress by the limits of the continent, they settled down 
and founded a new race though still retaining many 
of their customs, arts, and traditions. 

Unquestionably the Mapuches were immigrants 
and archeologically speaking, comparatively late ar- 
rivals in Chile. The prehistoric denizens of the land 
were of a very different race, were perhaps the an- 
cestors of the Fuegians, who were driven out and 
destroyed by the superior Mapuches. But whether 
the latter are of North American origin, whether 
they came from somewhere in South America, or 
whether their ancestors came overseas from the Old 
World no one can say. 

But regardless of their origin, their ancestry, or 
their racial relationship the Mapuches are beyond 
question the most admirable of South American 
tribes, a valiant, proud, progressive, and intelligent 
people, and as nearly approaching the ‘‘noble red- 
man’’ as any Indians in the whole of America. 


CHAPTER XXIV 
INDIAN WARS AND WARRIORS 


LMOST from the very first there have been 


conflicts between the Indians and the white 


men. This, however, is not surprising, for from the 


discovery of America to the present day, the white 
man has robbed’ the Indians of their lands, their 


Se ee 


homes, and their rights. He has violated the In- — 


dians’ women, has destroyed his fields and his game, ~ 
has tortured and murdered Indians in cold blood, has — 


enslaved and debased them, and has violated every 


promise, treaty, and pledge. And, in addition, the — 
white men have, in most instances, been the aggres- — 
sors, and have started the Indian wars which have — 


been so disastrous and bloody to both sides. 


Although Columbus was hospitably treated by © 
the Indians of the West Indies, he reciprocated by — 
taking captives and hostages, separating them from ~ 
homes and families and carrying them overseas to — 
Spain, where they pined away and died. When the 
Santa Maria was wrecked on the Haitian coast, the — 
Indians, who might far better have killed the Dons — 
then and there, befriended the shipwrecked mariners — 
and helped salvage all that was possible from the 
doomed caravel and they aided the Spaniards in 


474 


cag ‘ 


INDIAN WARS AND WARRIORS = 475 


building a fort. When the first settlers were left 
on the island by Columbus, the Indians remained 
friendly until the Dons, by their excesses and cruel- 
ties, exhausted the Indians’ patience and met with a 
just retribution. 

When later, Columbus established the city of La 
Natividad on Santo Domingo, the Indians stood by 
the Dons and sacrificed their own lives and tribal 
integrity in the white men’s defense when hostiles, 
aroused by the Spaniards’ beastly acts, swept down 
upon the settlement. Yet, a few years later, Colum- 
bus and his men made holidays of Indian massacres, 
and treacherously summoning the Indians, had them 
torn to pieces by their dogs as the Dons looked on 
and applauded the sport. | 

Everywhere the Spaniards went they enslaved the 
Indians and showed them no mercy. Pizarro ut- 
terly destroyed the vast Incan empire and most 
despicably betrayed the trust of Atahualpa, who had 
been his friend, and had the Inca put to ignominious 
death. 

Cortez did as much or more in Mexico and wiped 
out the Aztecs and murdered Montezuma. 

And everywhere, British, Dutch, French, Portu- 
guese, and later, Americans treated the aborigines 
in the same manner. No doubt, certain conflicts 
and Indian wars were inevitable. No doubt, as 
many argue, the pathway of civilization and human 
progress had to be blazed, and the primitive 
Indians were fated to fall victims to the onward 
march of civilization. But surely the majority of 
the long series of Indian wars and massacres could 


476 THE AMERICAN INDIAN | 


have been avoided had the Europeans and Amer-— 
icans treated the Indians like fellow human beings, : 
had they discriminated between friends and foes, or 
had they accorded the same treatment to Indian foes - 
and prisoners that they would have accorded their q 
enemies of white blood. F 

From the beginning, the white men have been prat- — 
ing of Indian savagery, of Indian treachery and — 
cruelty, and have tried to exonerate themselves and — 
salve their consciences by declaring the Indians — 
could not be dealt with along the rules of civilized 
warfare. We conveniently forget that when it came — 
to a war between French and English, between Span- — 
ish and English, between British and Colonials, each 4 
side enlisted Indian allies and encouraged them to — 
attack, kill, torture, and scalp their fellow Euro- ; 
peans. With unfair and prejudiced minds, we forget — 
to mention the innumerable treaties which we made — 
with the Indians, and which, on the slightest pre-— 
text or for no pretext at all, we treated as mere ~ 
scraps of paper. And we are prone to overlook and — 
forget that even when we had subdued the Indians, — 
had robbed them of everything and had herded them — 
on reservations, we allowed corrupt politicians, ad- — 
venturers, adttleie: and criminals to exploit, rill, 
rape, debase, and rob the Indians. 

What they did not know of treachery, cruelty and — 
crime the white men taught them, and the Indians 1 
proved apt pupils. It is not at all surprising that — 
eventually even traditionally friendly and peaceful — 
tribes looked upon the white men as enemies and — 
fought against them, for even the worm will turn _ 


INDIAN WARS AND WARRIORS 477 


and no Indian could ever be considered in the cate- 
gory of worms. 

No, the most amazing thing is that despite every- 
thing certain tribes remained the white settlers’ 
friends to the very end, although if the truth must 
be told, this attitude was often a purely selfish one 
and the friendly tribes were such, not because of any 
love of the whites but because, as the white men’s 
allies, they could even scores with traditional Indian 
enemies. 

Regardless of why some tribes were ever friendly, 
the fact remains that they were and, more’s the pity, 
they received little consideration for their attitude. 
Although the Mohicans have been famed in song and 
story as steadfast allies of the pioneers, and the 
name of Uncas will live on forever as the white 
man’s friend, yet we had no compunctions about 
packing the Delawares and the Mohicans off to 
reservations and stealing their ancestral lands. 

Much, too, has been said and written of Indian 
cruelties and tortures. But all primitive races are, 
from our point of view, cruel; and torture, until 
comparatively recent times, was a recognized and 
perfectly legitimate accessory of war and a common 
form of punishment among European nations. 

Even our Puritan ancestors resorted to tortures 
for trivial offenses, and no tortures ever devised by 
the Indians could excel or equal those used by the 
Spaniard and practiced on the Indians. Because an 
Indian who had been forcibly compelled to act as a 
guide for the Spaniards tried to escape rather than 
betray his people, he was torn limb from limb by 


478 THE AMERICAN INDIAN 


horses tied to his hands and feet. Because an In- 
dian resented a drunken Spaniard’s making free — 
with his women, Valdivia herded hundreds of men, — 
women, and children into a building, and setting fire 
to it, roasted them alive. And for an even more — 
trivial cause, Valdivia caused several hundred In- — 
dians to have their hands and ears lopped off and © 
their eyes burned out. ; 
In the West Indies, both the French and British — 
tortured, maimed, and mutilated the Indians with- — 
out mercy or hesitation. Our own forbears thought — 
nothing of doing the same. When all is said and — 
done there was not much to choose between the — 
earlier whites and the Indians on this score. 4 
Moreover, we must not forget that to the Indians 
torture was akin to a ceremonial. Among many ~ 
tribes the torture of a prisoner was more in the na- — 
ture of an honor than a punishment, and a captive, — 
killed without being tortured, would have felt that — 
he was being insulted and slighted by not being per- — 
mitted to exhibit his bravery and fortitude before — 
his enemies. Nor should we condemn all Indians ~ 
for the faults of a few. Many tribes never tortured — 
their prisoners, especially those of European blood, — 
and there are countless historical records of white — 
prisoners being treated with every honor and con- — 
sideration by their Indian captors. 
No matter how anti-Indian we may be, or what 7 
other faults and shortcomings the Indians may have ~ 
had, even the most prejudiced cannot overlook the — 
fact that almost without exception the Indians were ~ 
brave and valiant foes as well as allies. Regardless — 


INDIAN WARS AND WARRIORS 479 


of the right or wrong of Indian wars or Indian 
methods, even those who fought most relentlessly 
against the hostiles have been compelled to recog- 
nize the outstanding bravery, nobility, and magna- 
nimity of many Indian chiefs and warriors. 

The betrayed and dying Atahualpa will ever re- 
main a far more impressive and human figure than 
the avaricious, treacherous Pizarro who could not 
even be stomached by his fellow countrymen and met 
just retribution by an assassin’s hand. Montezuma, 
proud, dignified, fighting a forlorn and hopeless bat- 
tle for his people and his empire, stands out in his- 
tory as a far nobler, more heroic being than the 
utterly unprincipled and underhanded Cortez. Such 
names as Powhatan, Uncas, Black Hawk, Massasoit, 
Red Jacket, Tecumseh, Osceola, Spotted Tail, Red 
Cloud, Gall, Chief Joseph, Rain-in-the-face, Sitting 
Bull, Crazy Horse, and scores of others will go down 
in history as familiar and as famous as the names 
of historic characters of our own race. 

That the Indians should have been so easily de- 
stroyed; that in the space of a few generations, 
teeming thousands of brave and warlike Indians 
should have been conquered, subdued, and destroyed 
by the white men; that a mere handful of pioneers 
could not only survive but could drive off, kill, or 
subdue many times their number of Indians—these 
things are often a cause of wonder. But, as a mat- 
ter of fact, there was nothing remarkable about it 
and the result was exactly what might have been 
expected. For a long time the Indians regarded 
the white men as superior beings and, as such, feared 


480 THE AMERICAN INDIAN | 


to molest them no matter how great the provocation. — 
For still longer they believed the Europeans to be 
immortal and hence it was hopeless to struggle — 
against them. 

And from the very beginning the white invaders 
had the overwhelming advantage of armor, firearms, — 
steel weapons, and horses. Indian arrows, axes, — 
and spears now and then penetrated the bucklers and 
chain mail of the Europeans, but by far the greater — 
number of missiles rattled harmlessly from the — 
Kuropeans’ armor. In addition to the havoe of bul- — 
lets and swords, the whites had the terrifying ex- 
plosions of muskets, pistols, and cannon which to — 
the Indians were supernatural manifestations. ' 

Moreover, it was seldom indeed that a large body — 
of Indians attacked the Europeans at one time. Oc- — 
casionally several tribes would join forces in a united 
attempt to stay the onward march of their enemies, — 
but as a rule, Spaniards, French, British, and others — 
met comparatively small and detached groups of In- — 
dians who were easily defeated and whose survivors 
carried exaggerated tales of the white men’s prowess — 
and invincibility to their friends, and thus created 
an entirely unwarranted fear of the invaders. | 

In many places, too, as in New England and Vir- ~ 
ginia, there were not many Indians opposed to the — 
settlers. | Pa 

According to Captain John Smith, the total fight- a 
ing forces of the Powhatan Confederacy did not ex- — 
ceed three hundred men. In few portions of our ~ 
eastern states were there more than a few hundred ~ 


INDIAN WARS AND WARRIORS 481 


warriors, and these were often of diverse and antago- 
nistic tribes, scattered over a considerable area of 
country. 

Armed as they were with no weapons but toma- 
hawks, clubs, and bows and arrows, these Indians 
could not attack the settlers except at close quar- 
ters, whereas the whites could shoot an Indian many 
bowshots away. Only by sudden and concerted raids 
could the Indians hope to destroy the forts, houses, 
and settlements, and when they attempted such 
raids the loss to the Indians was usually far greater 
than to the whites, even if the former were ultimately 
the victors. 

In other cases, as in Peru, the Europeans found 
their task easy merely by chance, owing to dissen- 
sions and strife among the tribes. Pizarro would 
have had a far harder row to hoe, and a totally 
different story of the conquest of Peru would have 
been written, had he found the Incas a few years 
earlier. At the time of his arrival on the scene, the 
Incan empire was in the throes of civil war and the 
Spaniards, taking advantage of this and playing 
one party against another by false promises and 
lies, found it an easy task to destroy the vast em- 
pire. 

Much was accomplished by stirring up intertribal 
ill feelings and setting one tribe to war on another 
until, like the famous Kilkenny cats, both tribes were 
destroyed or decimated. In our western campaigns 
this was particularly the case, although the same 
had been done with marked success in the east, and 
much of the success subduing the hostile plains 


482 THE AMERICAN INDIAN — 


Indians was due to the wie - eo tribes — 
and Indian scouts. 
Of course, very soon after the arrival of the Kuro- — 
peans, the Indians learned to use firearms, metal — 
weapons, and horses. But these were not easily — 
obtainable and it took many years for the Indians ~ 
to become even passably supplied with weapons — 
capable of coping with the white men. Even in our ~ 
latest western campaigns, many of the Indians were 
without firearms, and fought with bows, arrows, — 
_ clubs, and stone skull-crackers. And finally, as I q 
have said before, liquor, disease, immorality, and — 
the effects of civilization killed far more — 4 
than swords or bullets. | 


The wonder is, not that the Indians were so soon — 
subdued, but that any survived, and still more amaz- — 
ing is the fact that not a few tribes succeeded in — 
holding their own, resisting all comers, fighting the — 
trained troops of the Europeans to a victorious fin- — 
ish, and remaining to this day, unconquered, inde- — 
pendent, and probably as numerous as ever. Some- — 
times this was due to the inaccessible retreats of the — 
Indians, at other times it was due to their remote- 4 
ness from civilization and a base of supplies, and — 
sometimes it was due to the Europeans deciding — 
that the game was not worth the candle, so to speak. — 

But in many cases it was due entirely to the valiant 4 
fighting ability and superb organization and military — 
strategy of the Indians. In Chile, the Mapuches — 
completely outgeneraled the Spaniards under Val- q 
divia. Fighting i in the open, they proved themselves _ 
far superior to the Dons as warriors, even though 


INDIAN WARS AND WARRIORS = 483 


they had only their native weapons with which to 
- oppose the Spaniards’ firearms, steel mail, pikes, 
swords, and lances. 

In the West Indies, the naked Caribs, numerically 
few on any one island, successfully opposed the 
Spanish, Dutch, French, and British for centuries. 
Repeatedly they captured strongly garrisoned forts. 
Over and over again the Europeans gave up and left 
the valiant Caribs in undisputed possession of their 
islands, and eventually they were subdued only by 
treachery and wholesale massacres. Hiven then many 
of the Caribs remained unconquered, and rather than 
submit to the Europeans threw themselves by hun- 
dreds over the cliffs into the sea, while on a few 
islands the whites were at last obliged to make trea- 
ties of peace—which remarkably enough they have 
adhered to—under the terms of which the surviving 
Caribs were to remain forever independent sos in 
sole possession of their lands. 

In South America vast numbers of Indian tribes 
have never been conquered or subdued and still re- 
main as free and aloof as before the landing of 
Columbus, and the Yaquis of Mexico and the Seris 
of Lower California have never yet admitted their 
defeat. 

With time, both eed and Indians have learned 
the futility and the inhumanity of fighting, and, with 
a few exceptions, Indian wars are things of the past. 
In Mexico expeditionary forces. are attempting to 
subdue and exterminate the remaining independent 
Yaquis; now and then some of the wilder and more 
savage tribes of South America have skirmishes with 


484. THE AMERICAN INDIAN | 


white or colored men entering their territory, and — 
incipient Indian revolts may occur here and there — 
occasionally when abuses of the Indians become un- — 


bearable. But on the whole, and with very few ex- — 


ceptions, the Indians and the whites have buried — 
the hatchet and are living side by side on amicable — 
terms. | : 
When the World War broke out and America is- — 
sued her call to arms, hundreds of Indians answered — 
the summons. From scores of tribes they came— 
Sioux and Blackfeet, Delawares and Iroquois, — 
Apaches and Mohaves, Cherokees and Seminoles, — 
age-old enemies and traditional friends, sons of — 
tribes which had fought tooth and nail against the — 


blue-clad troopers of frontier days, descendants of — 


famed warriors who had helped the pioneers to — 
victory in many a bloody war. Forgetting all en- — 
mities, forgetting tribal feuds and ancient wrongs, — 
they joined hands under the Stars and Stripes and — 
fought as valiantly for their adopted country in the : 
trenches and on the battlefields of France as had — 
their ancestors on the plains and in the forests of — 
their native land. 4 

We think of Custer and his men as heroes and — 
we give them the honor that is due them as brave ~ 
and valiant men who died fighting for their country — 
and their flag. But we should not forget that the — 
men against whom they fought were defending their — 
homes, their lands, their women and children, and — 
their very existence. Can we, as a nation whose an- — 
cestors laid down their lives in defense of their lib- — 
erty and their homes, as a nation who reverence those — 


INDIAN WARS AND WARRIORS 485 


patriots as heroes, can we, I say, afford to overlook 
the fact that the Indians were doing the same? 

Why should we not be fair and give the Indian his 
due, now that both white and red are at peace and 
our country’s Indian sons have fought so gallantly 
for our flag? Why not respect the Indian for his 
gallant but ever-losing struggle, pitting his primitive 
weapons against the powder and ball of trained sgol- 
diery? Why not regard as heroic the Indians who 
fell fighting a hopeless fight for all they held sacred 
and dear? 

And why not give to the fallen chiefs the same 
honors that the grim old Indian warriors gave the 
gallant cavalrymen, when, at the fiftieth anniversary 
of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the victorious 
Indians, wrinkled, seamed with age, but clad in full 
regalia, paid their tribute to Custer and his men, 
and placed wreaths and offerings upon the spot 
where their one-time enemies met their fate on that 
memorable day? 

(2) 


Tur Enp 


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